Summary
Morphology is the part of grammar that studies the form of words: what parts they are made of and which class they belong to. To analyse a word morphologically is to state its class (noun, verb, adjective…) and its features: gender, number, tense, person…
Words are made of different pieces: the root or lexeme, which carries the main meaning (niñ- in niño, niña, niñez), and the morphemes, which add information or form new words. Prefixes go in front (des-hacer) and suffixes behind (niñ-ez). Telling apart the word classes and their parts is the basis for understanding grammar.
Key points
- Morphology studies the form and the parts of words.
- To analyse is to state the word class and its features.
- Classes: noun, verb, adjective, determiner, pronoun, adverb…
- The root or lexeme carries the main meaning (sol- in soleado).
- Morphemes add information (gender, number…) or create words.
- Prefixes in front (des-hacer) and suffixes behind (cas-ita).
- It is the basis for grammatical analysis.