Kurdistan Regional Government _ Iraq

Ministry of Higher Education and

Scientific Research

University Of Zakho
Faculty of Humanities

Department of English

Compound and Complex

Words in English

By: Nasser H. Kassow

 Dedication

I would like to dedicate my research to my

family whom made a great effort in order to help

me to continue with my studying ..........

To my sisters and brothers

To all my friends in the college , specially to Rizgo,

Farhan and Azad, they pended and devoted hours

in order to help me .

To those who gave me all love and loyalty.. my

family…….

To special person, who I lived between her

hands………..My mother.

A.D 2013
Table of Contents

Dedications ..………………………………………………………….. I

Table of Contents ……………………………………………… II

Chapter 1: Introduction …...…………………………………1

1.1 Statement of the problem ……………….………….1

1.2 The Aims …………………………………………....2

1.3 Questions and hypotheses ……………… . …………2

1.4 Data collection………………………………………..3

1.5 Limitation …………………………………………….3

1.6 Value of the study……………………………………..3

Chapter 2: Compound Words ……………………………………...4

2.1 Definition of Compound Words …………….. ……………….4

2.2 Compounding………………….……………… ………………5

2.3 Types of compound words….…………………………………6

2.4 Endocentric compound……..………………………………….9

2.5 Exocentric compound…………………...……………………10

 2.6 plural and possessives………. ….…………………………….11

2.7 Compounds and prefixes………….………………..…………..12

2.8 Exception include ………………………………………………12

2.9 Spelling …………………………………………………………..13

2.10 Suspended Compound…………………………………………13

Chapter 3: Complex Words…………………………………………14

3.1 Definition …………. ……………………………………………14

3.2 Meaning of complex words…………. ……………………….14

3.3 Major types of complex words.…………………. …………..15

 Chapter One

Introduction

Words are the most fundamental units of linguistic structure .

words play an integral role in the human ability to use language
creatively. Far from being a static repository of memorized
information, a human vocabulary is a dynamic system . We can add
words at will . We can even expand their meaning into new
domains. So, words are the most important unit in speech
structure .According to Pinker(1999:3) children just entering school
''command 13,000 words .... A typical high-school graduate knows
about 60,000 words; a literature adult, perhaps twice that number.''
This number (120,000) may appear to be large, but if we think, of
all people and all the places (countries, cities ,streets , etc.) you can
name. these are all words ( Akmajian , Demers, Farmer & Harnish ,
2004). Besides, these all words ,in English, are classified in subject,
verb ,noun , etc. and these words some of them are similar and
some of them are different in structure whether they are simple
words , complex words , or compound words . We mean by simple
word is a word that contains just one single morpheme ( abase) for
example, the word ' book ' it can't be broken down into smaller
meaningful units , While compound word consists of two free
morphemes to create a new word (noun, verb or adjective).
Compound words are sometimes written as one word (sunflower),
sometimes as two hyphenated words (life-threatening), and
sometimes as two separate words (tennis court). Complex word is a
word made up of two or more morphemes. A complex word   may
consist of  a base (or root) and one or more affixes (bookishness,
brotherhood, friendship, freedom) .
 : Statement of the problem 1.1
English , like all languages , is full for instance , difference between
past simple and present simple. But some of them are difficult and need
more attention , for example, compound and complex sentences ,words
and so on .sometimes we see some words joined together as a new
word and in different meaning for example ( sunflower) which is ( sun +
flower) and each has a meaning when they are alone . and some words
are abases with adding affixes become another words like ( build V. =
. builder N.) . so , it is essential to have information about these words

: The Aims 1.2

The goal of this study is to gain better understanding of complex
and compound words and discover what make a word compound or
.complex

: Questions and Hypotheses 1.3

There are many questions to answer , Is there any difference
between compound and complex words ? Is there any rules of these
words ? We assume that we can make a compound word by combine
.any two words together

: Data Collection and Procedures 1.4

We have collected information from variety of sources , books from
library , and online also, articles from web pages of academic and
. universities

: Limitations 1.5
This study is only focus on compound and complex words , simple
words are not explained here , in this study. We have reviewed books
and checked Internet , but we didn't examined audiovisual materials
because of the type of the subject and we didn't make any surveys nor
. interviews

: Value of the study 1.6

This study is important to students of English department and any
learner of English language ,so, this study will be contain many details of
.words and new vocabularies for those

Chapter Two
Compound Words

: Definition 2.1
A compound word, according to Yule ( 2006: 114), compounding is like
the merging of two separate words to come up with one single form
.such as;[2] Noun → bookcase, Adjective → good-looking

Compound words: According to Roach(2000:108) are words made

up of two or more than two words and both of them can exist
independently as English words and they are written in different ways
sometimes they are written as one word , for example,' armchair '
sometimes they are written as a word separated by a hyphen ( - ) ,such
as ' gear-change' and also, written in another way , two words separated
.'by a space , for example, ' desk lamp

There are three forms of compound words:

the closed form, in which the words are melded together, such as
firefly, secondhand, softball, childlike, crosstown, redhead,
keyboard, makeup, notebook;
the hyphenated form, such as daughter-in-law, master-at-arms,
over-the-counter, six-pack, six-year-old, mass-produced;
and the open form, such as post office, real estate, middle class,
full moon, half sister, attorney general.

:Compounding 2.2
In compounding , we find independently existing bases combined to
form new words . There is a wide range of compound types in English,
: including
noun+ noun :girlfriend , shopkeeper _

adjective + noun : nobleman , bluebird_

verb + noun : washing-machine , guesswork _

noun + adjective : care-free, sky-blue_

The unity of compounds is shown by their tendency to be pronounced

with unity stress (i.e. stress on the first element )and written as one
word or a hyphen; there is a great deal of variation . In addition ,
compounds frequently have a meaning which is not predictable form the
individual parts . for example , the compound bluebird ( with primary
stress on blue ) is not the same as the phrase a blue bird ( with primary
stress on bird ). The former refers to a particular kind of bird ; the latter
is a description of the color of a bird ( which is not necessarily a
bluebird ). Syntactically , compounds show limited possibilities of
substitution compared with phrases . for example, in a phrase such as
blue birds either element can be replaced by a wide range of other
words . in contrast , such substitution is far more restricted in
: compounds . compare

:Free substitution in phrase Restricted substitution in

)stress on 2nd element( : compounds
) stress on 1st element (
blue birds blue birds Bluebirds bluebirds
Black birds blue flowers Blackbirds *blueflowers
Rare birds blue lights rarebirds *bluelights *
Small birds blue noses smallbirds bluenoses *
Young birds blue walls youngbirds *bluewalls *

Note also that when substitution is possible with compounds, the

meaning change may more than individual words suggest. Thus,
blackbirds and bluebirds are different kinds of birds , not just birds that
differ in colour . bluenoses are either inhabitants in Nova Scotia or strict
. puritans ( Biber , Johonsson , Leech , Conrad  & Finegan ,1999:58)
:Types of Compound words 2.3

Compound Words

C. Adjectives C . Nouns C. Verbs C. Propositions

Compound Adjectives.2.3.1
A compound adjective is made up of two part.
Sometimes it is written with a hyphen e.g., good-natured ,
or as one word , e.g. , nearsighted. The second part of the
compound adjectives is often a present or past
participle( McCarthy , O'Dell & shaw ,1998:24).
Compound Adjectival compounds take many shapes.
Adjectives can be added to other adjectives as in grey-
blue. Compounds can be also combined of an adjective
with noun (adjective + noun ) as full-time , ( noun +
adjective ) as butterfly-blue or an adjective with adverb
( adjective + adverb ) such as overly-protective . Moreover
, as we mentioned adjective is present or past participle ,
so, many adjective compounds involve participle form.
For example , the compound open-minded is from open
mind which is noun phrase and added suffix -ed ( has
been suffixed). However , adjectival compounds that are
suffixed with (-ed) or (-ing) are often verbs, as in :
psychologically-disturbed, classroom-based and world-
.renowned(Biber et.al,1999:533)
Compound Nouns 2.3.2
According to Rozakis (2003: 30) Compound nouns are two or more
nouns that function as a single unit . A compound noun can be two
individual words, words joined by a hyphen, or two words combined. So,
a compound noun is a fixed expression, made up of two or more words
that function as a noun. Compound nouns are usually combinations of
two nouns, e.g., address book, headache, science fiction. In English ,
noun compounding is a highly productive process; some major patterns
:are illustrated by

Noun + noun : bar code, database, eye-witness, fanlight, lamppost,

.logjam, shell-fish, spacecraft , suitcase

.Noun + noun /verb –er : dressmaker , eye-opener , fire-eater

Noun + verb-ing : fire-fighting, housekeeping , window shopping ,

. windsurfing

. Adjective + noun : bigwig , blackbird , easy chair, greatcoat , quicksand

. Verb + noun : cookbook, dipstick , swimsuit

Verb-ing + noun filing cabinet , filling station , printing-press , rocking

.chair

.Self + noun : self-control , self-help , self-pity(Biber et.al , 1999:325)

And Compound nouns may be countable , uncountable , or used only

; in the singular or plural

Some examples of countable compound nouns : alarm clock ,bank

account , credit card , shoe horn , youth hotel, phone book, reference
.book

: Here examples of common uncountable compound nouns

Air-traffic control , data processing , junk food, blood pressure , pocket

.money, mail order
:Examples of common nouns used only in the singular

Death penalty , labor force , generation gap, mother tongue , global

.warming , greenhouse effect

While, common compound nouns used only in the plural , here some
examples , grass roots , public works, sunglasses , race relations, kitchen
.scissors

Compound Verbs 2.3.3

According to Leech, Cruickshank, and Ivanič(2001:95), a compound

verb is usually composed of a preposition and a verb, although other
.combinations also exist

From a morphological point of view, some compound verbs are

difficult to analyze because several derivations are plausible. Blacklist,
for instance, might be analyzed as an adjective + verb compound, or as
an adjective+noun compound that becomes a verb through zero
.derivation

Table (3.2)

Examples Head Modifier

overrate, underline, outrun Verb Preposition
downsize, upgrade Verb Adverb
whitewash, blacklist Verb Adjective
browbeat, sidestep, manhandle Verb Noun
Compound Preposition 2.3.4
According to Quirk and Greenbaum (1985: 669), Compound
prepositions are very common in the English language. Two or more
.words are frequently used as single prepositions

[39] into, according to, ahead of, as for, because of, at the point of
The meaning of preposition is used to express a relation between two
entities, one is represented by the prepositional complement and the
other is represented by another part of the sentence. Relational
.meaning of space and time can be described systematically

Endocentric Compound 2.4

It is not the same as the referents of any of its constituent parts,
meaning that one element (often the left one) specifies more narrowly
the meaning of the other element (usually the right one), which is the
semantic head of the compound. Endocentric compounds have one
.head only and are the most common compounds in English
Truck driver → someone who drives a truck as an occupation ]10[
Teapot → is a kind of pot ]11[
Bedroom → a kind of room ]12[
Syntactically the head is dominant constituent of the entire
compound word and semantically an endocentric compound indicates a
sub-grouping within the class of the entity that the head denotes. the
first word in each case functions as a modifier of the head that specifies
the meaning of the head more precisely. Bedroom is a kind of
.room(Katamba & Stonham, 2006: 317)

Exocentric Compound 2.5

According to Katamba and Stonham (2006: 331). The meaning of the
exocentric compound cannot be derived from the rule applied to
endocentric compound - e.g. a redneck isn't a type of neck. It refers to
something out. ‘redneck’ refers metonymically to a person without
.education. They lack a syntactic head element
Lazybones → a lazy person ]13[
Bluenose → purplish variety of potato ]14[
By contrast, from a semantic perspective, contains headless
(exocentric) compound because the constituents do not have a head-
modifier semantic relationship. A lazybones is not a set of bones, and a
.bluenose is not a nose at all
From a syntactic point of view, those compounds are not headless
since they generated by standard rule and have structures [lazy] V +
.[bones] N= N, and [blue] A + [nose]N = N, and so on

2.6 Plurals and Possessives

Most dictionaries will give variant spellings of compound plurals.
When you have more than one truck filled with sand, do you have
several truckfuls or trucksful? The dictionary will give you both, with the
first spelling usually preferred. (And the same is true of teaspoonfuls,
cupfuls, etc.) The dictionary will help you discover that only one spelling
is acceptable for some compounds — like passersby.

For hyphenated forms, the pluralizing -s is usually attached to the

element that is actually being pluralized: daughters-in-law, half-moons,
mayors-elect "hyphenated and open compounds are regularly made
plural by the addition of the plural inflection to the element that is
subject to the change in number" and gives as examples "fathers-in-
law," "sergeants-in-arms," "doctors of philosophy," "and courts-martial":
"the most significant word — generally the noun — takes the plural
form. The significant word may be at the beginning, middle, or end of
the term" .And then we get examples such as "attorneys at law," "bills of
fare," chiefs of staff," notaries public," assistant attorneys general,"
"higher-ups," "also-rans," and "go-betweens."

Note: some dictionaries will list "attorney generals" along with

"attorneys general" as acceptable plurals of that office. Whether that's a
matter of caving in to popular usage or an inability to determine the
"significant word" is unknown.

As a general rule, then, the plural form of an element in a

hierarchical term belongs to the base element in the term, regardless of
the base element's placement:

 first sergeants
 sergeants major
 sergeants first class
 colonel generals [Russian]
 lieutenant generals
 lieutenant colonels
 apprentice, journeyman, and master mechanics
 deputy librarians
 deputy assistant secretaries of state

The possessive of a hyphenated compound is created by attaching

an apostrophe -s to the end of the compound itself: my daughter-in-
law's car, a friend of mine's car. To create the possessive of
pluralized and compounded forms, a writer is wise to avoid the
apostrophe -s form and use an "of" phrase (the "post genitive") instead:
the meeting of the daughters-in-law, the schedule of half-moons.
Otherwise, the possessive form becomes downright weird: the
daughters-in-law's meeting, friends of mine's cars.

One of the most difficult decisions to make about possessives and

plurals of compound words occurs when you can't decide whether the
first noun in a compound structure is acting as a noun that ought to be
showing possession or as what is called an attributive noun, essentially
an adjective. In other words, do we write that I am going to a writers
conference or to a writers' conference? 

2.7 Compounds with Prefixes

With a handful of exceptions, compounds created by the addition of
a prefix are not hyphenated:

anteroom, antisocial, binomial, biochemistry, coordinate,

counterclockwise, extraordinary, infrastructure, interrelated, intramural,
macroeconomics, metaphysical, microeconomics, midtown, minibike,
multicultural, neoromantic, nonviolent, overanxious, postwar,
preconference, pseudointellectual, reunify, semiconductor,
socioeconomic, subpar, supertanker, transatlantic, unnatural,
underdeveloped

2.8 Exceptions include 

compounds in which the second element is capitalized or a number:
anti-Semitic, pre-1998, post-Freudian
compounds which need hyphens to avoid confusion
un-ionized (as distinguished from unionized), co-op
compounds in which a vowel would be repeated (especially to avoid
confusion)
co-op, semi-independent, anti-intellectual (but reestablish, reedit)
compounds consisting of more than one word
non-English-speaking, pre-Civil War
compounds that would be difficult to read without a hyphen
pro-life, pro-choice, co-edited

Also, when we combine compound nouns, we would use a hyphen with

the first, but not the last: when under- and overdeveloped nations get
together. . . .

2.9 Spelling
The following table presents a mini-dictionary of compound
modifiers and nouns. Perhaps the best use of a very partial inventory like
this is to suggest the kinds of words that a writer would be wise either to
memorize or to be at least wary of. It is sometimes enough to know
when we should get the dictionary off the shelf.

2-year education Half sister

one-week vacation high-level officials
A-frame I-beam
African American Italian-American
Air Force Italian-American club
all-city tournament jack-in-the-box
attorney general lifelike
blood pressure light year
blue-green dress mayor-elect
bull's-eye salesperson
database secretary-treasurer

2.10 Suspended Compounds

With a series of nearly identical compounds, we sometimes delay
the final term of the final term until the last instance, allowing the
hyphen to act as a kind of place holder, as in

 The third- and fourth-grade teachers met with the parents.

 Both full- and part-time employees will get raises this year.
 We don't see many 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children around
here.( Collins, H.,1994:416 ).
.

Chapter Three

Complex Words
Definition 3.1
: Complex words
 Complex words are made up of two or more morphemes. A complex
word   may consist of  a base (or root) and one or more affixes (for
example, taller, tallest, books, reads, reading, played, written,
bookishness, brotherhood, friendship, freedom) ( Ibrahim,2o12).  
According to Roach (2000:104) words that being composed of two or
more grammatical units called complex words like care (not
composed) ,careless ( composed of two units) and carelessness ( three
. units)

Meaning of Complex words 3.2

There is difficulty in morphological analysis is how to analyze the
meaning of complex words and how determine the relation between the
meaning of an entire complex word and the meanings of its parts. Some
complex words appear to have a predictable meaning. For example,
fixable seems to mean (able to be fixed) , mendable means( able to be
mended). The meaning of these –able words seems to be regular
composing of the meaning of the verb and meaning of the –able suffix.
However, this seems to be easy for us to predict meanings. But, if we
look at some words ( complex) we will find that they give other
meanings not as we predict, for example, readable ,payable and
questionable. The word readable does not mean (able to be read) .when
we say that a book is readable we mean that is well written, and has
good style. If a baker says that the bill is payable on October , payable
means ( should be paid) not ( can be paid). And this for questionable, it
means something is suspect e.g. theory ( Akamajian , et.al,2004:49).
The important thing here , the basic meaning of the complex word
involves a narrowing of the more general meaning of the complex
. word

Major Types of Complex words 3.3

Words as we mentioned are three types simple , compound and
complex .Simple words in context means '' not composed of more than
one grammatically unit'' , for example , the word 'care' is simple but
'careful' and 'careless' being composed of two grammatical unit each are
complex ; ' carefully' and 'carelessness' are also complex , and are
.composed of three grammatical unit each one of them

: Complex words are of two major types

words made from a basic word form with the addition of _

an affix ; and
compound words which are made of two independent _
. English words
Affixes are two kinds in English language : prefixes , which
come before the base word ( which called stem) for
'example, prefix 'un-' + stem 'happy
becomes ' unhappy' . and suffixes , which come after the
stem ( word) for example , stem 'kind' + suffix 'ness'
. becomes ' kindness' ( Ruach,2000:104)

Affixes 3.4
Prefixes
Suffixes
Infixes

The complex linguistic sign 3.5

the next sections of this reader will deal with morphology and syntax,
both of which fall under the heading ' the complex words.' The following

:examples show how this may be motivated

unsuccessful.1

The boy kicked the girl .2

The word in example (1) is a complex word in that it comprises a

number of simpler signs, which we can intuitively identify as
un-, success and -ful.3

The sentence in example (2) is of course also complex; it is made up of

the signs

the, boy , kicked, girl.4

Within this list, the word(-form) kicked (representing the lexeme KICK)
:is complex, too

kick-, -ed.4

What both morphology and syntax are interested in is how the

combinatory potential linguistic signs to form more complex signs can
be described and explained and what kind of generalizations are best
employed to do so These questions are far from trivial – or can you
come up with a quick explanation as to why the only possible
combination of the signs presented in (3) to form a complex sign is in
.fact (1)? In other words, how could we best account for the fact that

:unsuccessful is a linguistic sign – but none of the following

successunful.5*

fulunsuccess.6*

successfulun.7*

And – more interestingly – in what way would you describe the analogy
:between(1), (6), (7) and (8) and the following sequences. Examples

impersona.9

personimal.10*

alimperson.11*

personalim.12*
Things are more complicated when dealing with signs such as in (4)
because here there are a number of different options of combining
,:these into complex signs

The girl, the boy kicked.13

The girl kicked the boy.14

How can we explain that

sign (13) and sign (2) have the same content-side (i.e. meaning), ƒ
while sign means something quite different all three sentences (2), (13)
ƒ ?and (14) are complex signs, while something like

the girl kicked boy , *the kicked the girl boy , *kicked the boy the girl *

Word structure 3.6

Complex words exhibit an INTERNA L STRUCTURE: the morphemes they

consist of are not just strung together like beads in a string. Instead,
we can often identify UNITS OF MORPHEMES within a larger sequence.
The technical terms for a unit that is part of a larger unit is
.CONSTITUENT

We have already seen an instance of this in developmental and

developments where we had a complex base, i.e. a constituent
development

:Constituent structures are often represented following

;shows the structure of developmental

DEVLOPMENTAL

Base Suffix

Root Suffix -al

Develop -ment

The basic structure of departmental is thus

]al - ]develop - ment [ .

Affixation also takes place twice in the following word

UNTOUCHABLE

namely with the lexical suffix - able and the lexical prefix un-. The
crucial question is: what order does this happen? Things were
straightforward in the case developmental (there is no alternative
.analysis)

Untouchable, on the other hand, could have either of two potential

structures, namely

]able- ]un- touch[[

]un- [touch -able][

In other words, we have to decide whether untouchable has a base

touchable or base untouch. This decision is obvious, though: based on
. the fact that *untouch is no English word, we can rule out analysis

Lexical morphology 3.7

Lexical morphology is one of the core areas of morphology and

deals with the systematic relationships holding between different

lexemes. There are quite a large number of different word -formation
processes that underlie these relationships, three of which we will
,have a closer look at, namely DERIVA TION

.CONVERSION and COMPOUNDING

Derivation 3.7.1
In the sections above, we have already seen instances of derivation, for
:example in

develop + -ment = development ,

development + -al = developmental ,

What we see here is a systematic relationship between different words.
In both cases this relationship is indicated by a specific lexical affix. And
: can be organized as follow

Verb + -ment = Noun

Noun + -al = Adjective

Example is illustrated in words such as involvement, entailment,

,employment

,containment, and others ; in original, marginal, octagonal, educational

national and others. Hence, derivation is a morphological process that

involves affixation with a lexical affix to 'create' a new lexeme. Here are
:some more examples

own + -er = owner (Verb → Noun)( .

owner + -ship = ownership (Noun → Noun) ( .

).frighten + -ing = frightening (Verb → Adjective)

law + -ful = lawful (Noun → Adjective)( .

un- + lawful = unlawful (Adjective → Adjective) (.

bold + -ly = boldly (Adjective → Adverb)(.

de- + compose = decompose (Verb → Verb) (.

In examples ,ownership and unlawful, indicate that derivation is a

RECURSIVE process: it can be applied to a word that already

underwent a derivational process. As concerns unlawful, this word can
:again undergo derivation

unlawful + -ly = unlawfully (Adjective → Adverb) ( .

A word often used to show that results in complex, potentially infinite

strings is anti-disestablishmentarianism (which underwent at least

.……seven derivational processes and seems to just go on and on
:Conversion 3.7.2
Conversion is often described as a special kind of derivation, namely
:derivation with lexical affix. Compare the following two sentences

?Can you pass me the butter

? Would you please butter my toast

We have a noun butter in and a verb butter in The verb, though, is not
over marked as derivative of the noun. In a way, then, we could
describe this process

:Follows

).butter + ∅ = butter (Noun → Verb)

This might also explain why some call conversion ' zero-derivation'.
:Other examples

shoulder + ∅ = shoulder (Noun → Verb, as in ' He shouldered the bag')

carpet + ∅ = carpet (Noun → Verb, as in ' They carpeted the hall' )

empty + ∅ = empty (Adjective → Verb, as in ' She emptied the '(

ashtray

tidy + ∅ = tidy (Adjective → Verb, as in ' He tidied his flat' )

cough + ∅ = cough (Verb → Noun, as in ' She developed a bad cough' )

smile + ∅ = smile (Verb → Noun, as in ' What a lovely smile' )

There are quite a few cases where conversion correlates with a

.,change in pattern

take off (noun) – take ' off (verb) '

subject (noun) – sub' ject (verb) '

increase (noun) – in' crease (verb) '

. ,Conversion is much more frequent in English

:Word structure: some more examples

; ,Abbreviations: LP: lexical prefix, LS: lexical suffix, F S: inflectional suffix

- entanglements, enslavement , illogical ,

.A. Base [LP (en-) + root (slave) ] + LS (-ment)

.B. LP ( ill ) + base [ root ( logic ) + LP ( -al) ]

. C. Base [ base (LP 'en-' + root 'tangle') ] + FS ( -s )

Morphological processes: some examples

The following table precisely identifies each morphological process

evident in words following

help (V) → help (N) conversion.1

help (N) + -ful → helpful (A) derivation

un- + helpful → unhelpful (A) derivation

unhelpfulness

unhelpful(A) + -ness → unhelpfulness (N) derivation

clean (V) + er → cleaner (N) derivation.2

window + cleaner → window cleaner compounding window cleaners

window cleaner + -s → window cleaners inflection affixation

execute (V) + -ive → executive (N) derivation.3

Television → TV acronomy T V executive

TV + executive → TV executive compounding

.hit + man → hit man compounding 4

hit men

hit man → hit men inflection modification

sit (V) + -er → sitter (N) derivation.5

baby + sitter → baby sitter compounding baby sitters

baby sitter + s → baby sitters inflection: affixation

soft (A) + -en → s often (V) derivation

soften (V) + -er → softener (N) derivation fabric softener

fabric + softener → fabric softener compounding

Lexical affixes: some examples 4.6.3

Affix Informal description

X → Y Examples

ism , -ity, -ness property of being X A → N realism, sensitivity, -

kindness

ance, -ment, -al activity or result of X ing V → N referance, -

engagement, refusal

ful / -less full of / lacking X N → A joyful, joyless -

able able to be X ed V → A breakable, readable-

en (cause to) become (more) X A → V redden, loosen, tighten -

de- remove X from N → V debug, delouse

dis-, de-, un- not X or reverse X V → V disagree, decompose, unlock

let, -ette, -ie small X N → N piglet, cigarette, girlie -

.un- not X A → A untidy , unsound, unsafe ( McCarthy,2002)

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university.
Nasser Haji Kassow
E-mail: Nasserhaji1991@yahoo.com

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