Flashcards on English Morphology: Inflection and Allomorphs
English Morphology: Inflection & Allomorphs Explained for Students
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English morphology
24 cards
Card 1
Question: What is 'inflection' in morphology?
Answer: Inflection is the morphological process that changes a word's form to mark grammatical distinctions such as number (singular/plural) or tense (present
Card 2
Question: Give an example of an English plural inflectional morpheme.
Answer: The plural morpheme -'s' as in shoe → shoes.
Card 3
Question: What do noun inflection and verb inflection mark in English?
Answer: Noun inflection marks number (singular vs plural). Verb inflection marks tense (e.g., present vs past) and other grammatical distinctions.
Card 4
Question: Provide three example pairs showing singular → plural from the material.
Answer: Apple → apples; boy → boys; tree → trees.
Card 5
Question: Provide three example pairs showing present tense → past tense from the material.
Answer: talk → talked; cook → cooked; carve → carved.
Card 6
Question: Why is -ing considered an inflectional suffix in the sentence 'They are giving birth to more babies than the locals.'?
Answer: Because -ing marks the progressive aspect of the verb phrase (part of the verb's inflectional system), showing an ongoing action.
Card 7
Question: Why is -ing considered a lexical (derivational) suffix in the sentence 'It is often said that giving is more blessed than receiving.'?
Answer: Because there -ing forms a gerund (a noun from a verb), functioning as a lexical/nominal element rather than marking a verb tense/aspect.
Card 8
Question: List the three plural allomorph patterns given and when each surfaces.
Answer: 1) [-t] (written -s) surfaces after voiceless sounds like /sh, s, k, ch/. 2) [-d] surfaces after voiced sounds like /v, th, y, n, r/. 3) [-ed] surface
Card 9
Question: Give examples from the material that illustrate different past-tense/allomorph realizations.
Answer: talk → talked ([-t]); quarrel → quarreled ([-d]); construct → constructed ([-ed]).
Card 10
Question: What is the difference between an inflectional morpheme and a lexical/derivational morpheme as shown by -ing examples?
Answer: An inflectional morpheme modifies grammatical properties of the same word (e.g., verb aspect or tense), while a lexical/derivational morpheme creates