A bound morpheme added to a root word to change its meaning or grammatical function is called an:

A bound morpheme added to a root word to change its meaning or grammatical function is called an:

• A. Affix
• B. Root
• C. Stem
• D. Morpheme

Answer: (A)

Affixes are bound morphemes that attach to a root or stem to change meaning or grammatical function. They can’t stand alone, and they come in front-facing prefixes (like un-) or back-facing suffixes (like -ed, -ing). The root provides the core meaning, while the affix adds a layer that shifts tense, negation, number, or category. In contrast, the root is the base word itself, the stem is the form to which affixes attach (which can include the root plus some affixes in some analyses), and morpheme is a broader term for any unit of meaning, whether bound or free. Since the question specifies a bound morpheme added to a root word to alter meaning or function, the correct term is affix.

Affixes are bound morphemes that attach to a root or stem to change meaning or grammatical function. They can’t stand alone, and they come in front-facing prefixes (like un-) or back-facing suffixes (like -ed, -ing). The root provides the core meaning, while the affix adds a layer that shifts tense, negation, number, or category. In contrast, the root is the base word itself, the stem is the form to which affixes attach (which can include the root plus some affixes in some analyses), and morpheme is a broader term for any unit of meaning, whether bound or free. Since the question specifies a bound morpheme added to a root word to alter meaning or function, the correct term is affix.