NYSTCE English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Practice Test

What are the bound morphemes that do not significantly change the meaning or part of speech of a word?

1. Derivational morphemes

2. Inflectional morphemes

3. Root morphemes

4. Free morphemes

The correct answer is: Inflectional morphemes

Inflectional morphemes are the correct answer because they are bound morphemes that modify a word's tense, number, aspect, mood, or case without changing its part of speech or core meaning. For instance, adding an "s" to "cat" to form "cats" indicates plurality but does not alter the fact that the word remains a noun. In contrast, derivational morphemes change the meaning or part of speech of a word. For example, adding "un-" to "happy" creates "unhappy," which changes the meaning and transforms the adjective into a state different from the original. Root morphemes, while foundational, are not classified as bound morphemes since they can stand alone as words. Free morphemes are independent and can function autonomously in a sentence, such as "book" or "run." They do not fit the criteria of being bound or modifying the meaning without altering the word's class.