MLAT Word Structure & Morphological Analysis 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which process is illustrated when 'text' becomes 'to text' (as in texting a message)?
- Affixation
- Conversion (zero derivation) (Correct answer)
- Compounding
- Clipping
Correct answer: Conversion (zero derivation)
Conversion (zero derivation) changes a word's grammatical category without adding any affix.
Question 2: In the compound word 'blackbird,' what is the relationship between the two roots?
- The second root modifies the first
- The first root modifies the second (Correct answer)
- Both roots contribute equally with no head
- The roots are synonyms
Correct answer: The first root modifies the second
In English compounds, the first element typically modifies the head (second element), so 'black' modifies 'bird.'
Question 3: What does the plural morpheme in 'oxen' illustrate?
- Regular suffixation with -s
- Suppletion
- A historical (archaic) suffix -en (Correct answer)
- Reduplication
Correct answer: A historical (archaic) suffix -en
'Oxen' retains the archaic Old English plural suffix '-en,' still used in a few English words.
Question 4: Which word contains a PREFIX that means 'against' or 'opposite'?
- preview
- antiwar (Correct answer)
- rewrite
- substandard
Correct answer: antiwar
The prefix 'anti-' in 'antiwar' means against or opposing something.
Question 5: In morphological analysis, a 'stem' is best defined as:
- The smallest unit of meaning in a language
- The base form to which affixes are attached (Correct answer)
- Any word that can stand alone
- A suffix that changes word class
Correct answer: The base form to which affixes are attached
A stem is the base form of a word to which inflectional or derivational affixes are added.
Question 6: The term 'agglutinative' describes a language that:
- Uses word order rather than affixes to show grammatical relations
- Strings multiple distinct morphemes together with clear boundaries (Correct answer)
- Fuses morphemes so their boundaries are difficult to separate
- Has very few morphemes per word
Correct answer: Strings multiple distinct morphemes together with clear boundaries
Agglutinative languages attach multiple morphemes to a root with clear, separable boundaries, unlike fusional languages.
Question 7: Which of the following words is formed through BACK-FORMATION?
- unhappy
- editor
- televise (from television) (Correct answer)
- blackboard
Correct answer: televise (from television)
'Televise' was back-formed from 'television' by removing what speakers interpreted as a suffix.
MLAT Word Structure & Morphological Analysis 5
Which process is illustrated when 'text' becomes 'to text' (as in texting a message)?