What term describes a morpheme added to the end of a word to form a derivative?

What term describes a morpheme added to the end of a word to form a derivative?

• A. Suffix
• B. Prefix
• C. Infix
• D. Circumfix

Answer: (A)

A morpheme that attaches to the end of a word to form a new word is called a suffix. This end attachment is used to create derivatives, often changing the word’s meaning or its part of speech, such as adding -ness to an adjective to form a noun (happy → happiness) or adding -ly to an adjective to form an adverb. It’s distinct from a prefix, which attaches at the beginning; an infix, which inserts inside the word; and a circumfix, which wraps around both ends. So the end-position morpheme used to form new words is the suffix.

A morpheme that attaches to the end of a word to form a new word is called a suffix. This end attachment is used to create derivatives, often changing the word’s meaning or its part of speech, such as adding -ness to an adjective to form a noun (happy → happiness) or adding -ly to an adjective to form an adverb. It’s distinct from a prefix, which attaches at the beginning; an infix, which inserts inside the word; and a circumfix, which wraps around both ends. So the end-position morpheme used to form new words is the suffix.