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All the
Tests
Characteristics
of a Morpheme
- Has a meaning that can be at least
vaguely stated
- Contains only one unit of meaning
- Can be used with the same meaning
within other words or as a word itself
Steps
of Morphological Analysis
- Draw a vertical line between
words and between whatever parts of words seem to you to be meaningful units
in the sentence.
- Go back and check each division
you made.
- Be sure that each contains only
one unit of meaning.
- Try to state what the meaning or
function of each unit is.
- Try to think of a way that you
can use the unit with a similar meaning in another word or as a word itself.
Tests
for Nouns
Formal Proof
- Has noun-making morpheme. (government)
- Can occur with the plural
morpheme. (governments)
- Can occur with the possessive
morpheme. (government’s decision)
Functional Proof
- Without modifiers, can directly
follow an article and create a grammatical unit. (the government, a
government)
- Can fit in the frame sentence.
((The) ________ seem(s) all right.)
Test
for Verbs
Formal Proof
- Has verb-making morpheme. (criticize)
- Can occur with present-tense
morpheme. (criticizes)
- Can occur with past-tense morpheme.
(criticized)
- Can occur with present-participle
morpheme. (criticizing)
- Can occur with past-participle
morpheme. (had fallen, was criticized)
Functional Proof
- Can be made into a command. (Criticize
this novel!)
- Can be made negative. (They did not
criticize the novel.)
- Can fit in one of the frame
sentences. (They must ________ (it.) or They must _____ good.)
Tests
for Adjectives
Formal Proof
- Has adjective-making morpheme.
(happy, lovable, foolish)
- Takes comparative or superlative
morpheme. (softer, softest)
Functional Proof
- Can be compared by using more
or most. (more sensitive)
- Intensifies. (very soft)
- Can fit both slots in the frame
sentence. (The ______ man seems very ___.)
Tests
for Adverbs
Formal Proof
- Can be compared by using
inflectional morphemes or more and most. (She ran faster.)
- Takes comparative or superlative
morpheme. (softer, softest)
Functional Proof
- Can be compared with more
or most. (more suddenly)
- Intensifies. (very
suddenly)
- Can be moved within a sentence.
(The door opened suddenly. The door suddenly opened., Suddenly
the door opened.)
- Can fit in the frame sentence.
(The man told his story ____________.)
Tests
for Pronouns
Try the pronouns one at a time,
alone.
For example, when deciding between For Carla and I and For Carla and
me, omit Carla and. Usually you will be able to tell at once that For
me is correct and For I is not.
Substitute other pronouns for the
entire phase.
For example, when deciding between Just between you and I and Just
between you and me, substitute we and us for you and I
or you and me. You may have a clearer intuition that Just between us
(the equivalent of you and me) is correct, but Just between we
(the equivalent of you and I) is not.
Determiners
None found at this time.
Qualifiers
- Can fit in the frame sentence (most
cases).
The handsome man seems
__________________ handsome.
very
quite
rather
etc.
Prepositions
- Remove the prepositional phrase.
If the sentence makes sense without it, it is a prepositional phrase.
- To determine if it’s a
preposition or an adverb or verb particle, search for the object. If three
is no object, it is either an adverb or verb particle.
Conjunctions
If it has a noun phrase after it,
it is a preposition and not a subordinating conjunction.
Interrogatives
Sometimes the grammatical function
of the interrogative word is clearer if you answer the question, substituting
an appropriate word for the interrogative.
When
are you leaving? (Question)
You are leaving then. (Answer)
Relatives
Relatives
have antecedents (a preceding noun to which they refer); if you find no
antecedent, the word may be functioning as something other than a relative.
The pilot who flew us through the thunderstorm. (the pilot is the antecedent
and who is the relative)
Teacher
Territory is designed to assist the high school Language Arts teacher in ideas
and resources for teaching students using a variety of methods. From traditional
methods to integrating technology into the classroom, Teacher Territory can
help. This site currently contains lesson plans, WebQuests, thematic units,
graphic organizers, and more. More things will be added as developed.

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