What is a free morpheme?

A free morpheme is a morpheme (or word element) that can stand alone as a word. Also called an unbound morpheme or a free-standing morpheme. Contrast with bound morpheme. Many words in English consist of a single free morpheme. For example, each word in the following sentence is a distinct morpheme: “I need to go now, but you can stay.”.

What is an unbound morpheme called?

It is also called an unbound morpheme or a free-standing morpheme. A free morpheme is the opposite of a bound morpheme, a word element that cannot stand alone as a word. Many words in English consist of a single free morpheme.

What type of morpheme is the word quick?

The word ‘quick’ is the free morpheme and carries the basic meaning of the word. The ‘est’ makes the word a superlative and is a bound morpheme because it cannot stand alone and be meaningful.”

What is an example of a distinct morpheme?

For example, each word in the following sentence is a distinct morpheme: “I need to go now, but you can stay.”. Put another way, none of the nine words in that sentence can be divided into smaller parts that are also meaningful. There are two basic kinds of free morphemes: content words and function words.