Kinds of Morphemes

	Kinds of Morphemes
	Root	Affix (prefix, suffix)
		Inflective	Word-formative (derivational)
E S S E N C E	Is a part of a word which does not change and is always presented in any form of the word. For example: Black, blackish, blacken. Black is a root morpheme.	Serves to change the form of the same very word. For example: 1) I always invite him. He invites me. I invited him yesterday. 2) A boy – boys.	Serves to form new words. For example: Resist (action), resistance (phenomenon), resistant (characteristics), resister (person), resistor (thing), resistible (quality), irresistible (quality).

NOTE! In English the Root coincided with the Stem. Stem is also regarded to be a root morpheme. Stem is a significant unity of Morphology, a part of the Word till the Ending.

In a language Morpheme is presented by its versions, allomorphemes (алломорфы, from the Greek allo = other/another).

Characteristics of allomorphemes:

1) they have language (they mean sth, they form words’ forms) and phonetic (they sound) power;

2) the allomorphemes of a definite morpheme can absolutely coincide in pronunciation

For example:

Fresh, freshment, freshen. The letters s,h in the root morpheme fresh create the same sound [ ].

3) the allomorphemes of a definite morpheme can be not identical in pronunciation

For example:

1)

D reamed [d] the morpheme-suffix ed means the same – it is the index of Past Simple or

Loaded [id] Past Participle for regular verbs

Worked [t] but is pronounced differently

2 )

Physics [k]

Physicist [s] in the root morpheme physic the letter c is pronounced differently

Physician […]

2.2. Principles of subdivision of parts of speech

The whole structure of Language is divided into lexical-grammatical classes or parts of speech.

Different linguistic schools ground different ways of lexical-grammatical classes’ subdivisions.

1.Henry Sweet (19th century), an English linguist

First scientific grammar of English (the second half of the 19^th century);

Classical Grammar

Principles of classification:

1) the Form (morphological);

2) the Function (syntactic).

In accordance with the principle of Form he singles out two big classes – declinable (those parts of speech that can change their forms) and indeclinable (those that do not change).

There were singled out three subclasses of declinable parts of speech:

1) Noun-words (Nouns);

Noun-numerals (Cardinal Numbers (количественные));

Noun-pronounce (Personal and Indefinite Pronouns);

2) Adjective-words (Adjectives);

Adjective-pronouns (Possessive Pronouns);

Adjective-numerals (Ordinal Numbers(порядковые));

Participle;

3) Verbs (Finite and Non-finite verbs).

In accordance with the principle of Function he takes into consideration syntactic position that a definite part of speech can take in a sentence. He made an attempt to classify parts of speech in accordance with their syntactic function.

BUT the principle of Meaning was not distinct (clear) or was not taken into consideration at all. H.Sweet did not really take into account categorical parts of speech, properties of parts of speech to present generalized meanings (Grammar Meaning), for example, the property of the Noun to present objects and things, the one of the Verb to present action, etc. These properties he refers/relates/attributes not to the grammar ones but to the logical signs.