Spanish morphology is the study of how words are formed and structured, including the roles of roots, prefixes, suffixes, and inflections. It explains how meaning is built and altered within words, covering both derivation (creating new words) and inflection (modifying words for grammatical purposes).
- Reveals the internal structure of words, not just their usage.
- Includes both free morphemes (standalone roots) and bound morphemes (affixes).
- Shows how a single root can generate many related forms (e.g., hablar, hablo, hablas, hablamos).
Morphology focuses on how words are built and changed, not on history, idioms, or syntax.
Morphology deals with roots, affixes, and inflections—how words form and change.
Morphemes
A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning, such as a root or an affix.
‘-ar’ is a bound morpheme because it cannot stand alone.
'pan' is a root morpheme, 're-' is a prefix, and '-ito' is a suffix. 'Comer' and 'feliz' are whole words (each one root morpheme).
Morphemes are the smallest units of meaning:
- Roots: Core meaning, e.g., amor-, paso-
- Free morphemes: Standalone words, e.g., sol, mar
- Bound morphemes: Must attach to something else, e.g., -ar, -ito, re-
Inflection
Inflection means altering a word's ending to show tense, mood, person, number, etc.
Inflection involves changes like 'hablar/ hablo', 'niño/ nińos', 'rojo/ roja'—not creating new words like 'panadero' or 'aguamarina'.
Inflection modifies word endings to express:
- Verbs: person, number, tense, mood (e.g., hablo, hablas, hablarán)
- Nouns: number, and sometimes gender (niño, niña, niños)
- Adjectives: gender and number (rojo, roja, rojos, rojas)
Derivation
Derivation means making new words from existing ones using prefixes/suffixes.
Derivation = new words, new meanings:
- Adding suffixes: feliz → felicidad (happiness)
- Adding prefixes: hacer → deshacer (undo)
- Can change word class: pan (noun) → panadero (noun: baker)
Word Formation
Derivation, inflection, and compounding are key word formation methods; reduplication is rare.
'-dor', '-ción', and 're-' are derivational affixes; '-os', '-imos' are inflectional.
Word formation includes:
- Derivation (affixes that create new words)
- Inflection (morpheme changes for grammar)
- Compounding (joining roots, e.g., paraguas)
Derivational affixes can change meaning, form new words, and alter word class.
Conclusion
Spanish morphology explains how words are built, transformed, and related through roots, affixes, and inflections.
- Spanish words are made of morphemes, including roots and affixes.
- Inflection changes word endings for grammar; derivation forms new words.
- Understanding morphology helps decode vocabulary and grammar patterns.