The study of the smallest units of grammar that have meaning is called what?

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Multiple Choice

The study of the smallest units of grammar that have meaning is called what?

Morphology is the study of the structure of words and the smallest units that carry meaning, called morphemes. These units can be free morphemes, like “book” or “run,” which can stand alone, or bound morphemes, like prefixes and suffixes such as “un-” or “-ed,” which attach to other morphemes to alter meaning or show tense, number, or other grammatical features. By breaking words into morphemes, we see how new words are formed and how existing words change form, as in “cats” (cat + -s) or “unbelievable” (un- + believe + -able). Semantics deals with meaning at larger units like phrases and sentences, phonology with sounds, and lexicology with words more broadly without focusing on their internal morphemic construction. So the field that matches the description is morphology.

Morphology is the study of the structure of words and the smallest units that carry meaning, called morphemes. These units can be free morphemes, like “book” or “run,” which can stand alone, or bound morphemes, like prefixes and suffixes such as “un-” or “-ed,” which attach to other morphemes to alter meaning or show tense, number, or other grammatical features. By breaking words into morphemes, we see how new words are formed and how existing words change form, as in “cats” (cat + -s) or “unbelievable” (un- + believe + -able). Semantics deals with meaning at larger units like phrases and sentences, phonology with sounds, and lexicology with words more broadly without focusing on their internal morphemic construction. So the field that matches the description is morphology.

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