Universidade Federal do MaranhãoCentro de Ciências Humanas

Departamento de Letras - Núcleo de Inglês

English Morphossyntax

Prof. ME. José A. Uchôa-Fernandes

Exercises on Affixes

1. Inflectional and Derivational Suffixes

Determine what kind of suffix is highlighted in the words below. Use the structure of the sentences to guide your decision. The item number follows the word.

Inflectional Suffix: Noun-forming Derivational Suffix Verb-forming Derivational Suffix Adjective-forming Derivational Suffix

It was an dark and tempestuous(1) night. Suddenly, an explosion(2) pierced(3) the silence(4). The maid's(5) persistent(6) screams(7) rang from the conservatory(8). The butler was running(9) up the stairs, when he stumbled over the prostrate(10) body of his erstwhile employer(11), a reclusive(12) industrialist(13). Quickly, he deduced that the man had been given(14) a fatal(15) dose of an anesthetic(16). A fragile(17) document(18) was missing from the gigantic(19) safe. He began to organize(20) a reconnaissance(21) to search for the fugitive(22). After that, he planned to interrogate(23) the miscreant(24).

2. Give the meaning of the highlighted suffix in the following words. Be as specific as possible.

1. spectator 6. canine 11. bronchitis

2. phobia 7. communism 12. pubescent

3. asteroid 8. antipathy 13. stadium

4. solarium 9. erudite 14. carcinoma

5. prognosis 10. unity 15. finalize

3. Identify the prefixes in the following words. Determine whether each prefix is used spatially, temporally, intensively.

1. abduct 5. secede 9. diachronic

2. preamble 6. declare 10. extend

3. intervene 7. invade 11. postpone

4. condemn (dam/damn/demn )

8. hyperactive 12. prognosis

4. Word Analysis

Using the morphemes from Set 1, analyze the words below as follows:

Parse the word into morphemes (put any "extra" letters in parenthesis).

Gloss each morpheme.

Give a literal meaning for the word.

a. intersection b. microbiology c. pseudoscience d. extracorporeal e. psychopathic