Question

which choice describes a morpheme? (1 point) a morpheme supplies the main meaning for a word. a morpheme can be added to the beginning or end of a word. a morpheme is a small unit that has its own meaning. a morpheme is a word that can stand alone with its own meaning.

Explanation:

• Analyze Option 1: The main meaning of a word is more related to the root (a type of morpheme), but not all morphemes supply the main meaning (e.g., affixes like "un-" or "-ing" don't supply the main meaning of a word). So this is incorrect.
• Analyze Option 2: Morphemes that are added to the beginning or end of a word are affixes (a type of morpheme), but not all morphemes are affixes (e.g., roots are morphemes too). So this description is too narrow.
• Analyze Option 3: A morpheme is defined as the smallest unit of language that has its own meaning. This matches the definition of a morpheme.
• Analyze Option 4: Morphemes that can stand alone are free morphemes (like "book"), but there are also bound morphemes (like "un-" or "-er") that cannot stand alone as words. So this description is incorrect as it only refers to free morphemes, not all morphemes.

Answer:

C. A morpheme is a small unit that has its own meaning.