An ELT Glossary Affix

Selasa, 17 Februari 2015



  • Definition : An affix is a  bound morpheme (part of a word with recognisable meaning/use which cannot stand alone) which changes the meaning/use of a free morpheme (part of a word with a recognisable meaning which can stand alone) when it is added to it.
  • Examples : a)  "un" as in unhappy : the affix changes the meaning of the free morpheme happy from positive to negative; b)  "ly" as in quickly : the affix changes the form of the free morpheme quick from  adjective to an adverb.
  • As these examples show, in English affixes may occur at the beginning of a word - eg unhappy - in which case they are called prefixes, or at the end - eg quickly - in which case they are called suffixes. In other languages, they may also occur in the middle, in which case they are called infixes (eg in Tagalog the past tense marker -um- : sulat = to write , sumulat = I wrote)


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