What are bound morphemes that do not greatly alter a word's meaning or part of speech?

What are bound morphemes that do not greatly alter a word's meaning or part of speech?

• A. Derivational morphemes
• B. Inflectional morphemes
• C. Free morphemes
• D. Bound morphemes

Answer: (B)

Inflectional morphemes are bound affixes that attach to a word to signal grammatical features like tense, number, person, or possession, without changing the word’s core meaning or its part of speech. For example, the plural suffix on dogs shows more than one; the past tense suffix on walked marks a past action; the possessive suffix in John's marks ownership; and the third‑person singular suffix on runs shows agreement with the subject. These changes refine grammar, not meaning, so they don’t create a new word or switch the word’s category. Derivational morphemes, in contrast, add new meaning and often change the part of speech (happy → happiness, teach → teacher). Free morphemes can stand alone as words, while bound morphemes attach to other morphemes.

Inflectional morphemes are bound affixes that attach to a word to signal grammatical features like tense, number, person, or possession, without changing the word’s core meaning or its part of speech. For example, the plural suffix on dogs shows more than one; the past tense suffix on walked marks a past action; the possessive suffix in John's marks ownership; and the third‑person singular suffix on runs shows agreement with the subject. These changes refine grammar, not meaning, so they don’t create a new word or switch the word’s category.

Derivational morphemes, in contrast, add new meaning and often change the part of speech (happy → happiness, teach → teacher). Free morphemes can stand alone as words, while bound morphemes attach to other morphemes.