Grammar: Word Level

Grammar can be analysed at two levels: word level (morphology) and sentence level (syntax). This lesson focuses on word-level grammar — the internal structure of words and the processes by which new words are formed. Understanding morphology enriches your analysis by revealing how individual words are constructed and how word formation contributes to meaning.

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Morphology: The Study of Word Structure

Morphology is the branch of linguistics concerned with the internal structure of words — how they are built from smaller meaningful units called morphemes.

Key Definition: Morpheme — the smallest unit of meaning in a language. A morpheme cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts. For example, "unhappiness" contains three morphemes: un- + happy + -ness.

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Free and Bound Morphemes

Morphemes are classified into two fundamental categories:

Type	Definition	Examples
Free morpheme	Can stand alone as an independent word	cat, run, happy, book, green
Bound morpheme	Cannot stand alone — must be attached to another morpheme	un-, -ness, -ed, -ing, -s, re-, dis-, -ly