Special Cases of Word Formation through Affixation
Read the following letter of complaint and identify the base words of the ones in bold.
March 31, 2025
Dear Sabrina Smith,
Wedding Plannet at Hyatt Zilara Cancun,
I am writing to formally express my
dissatisfaction with the wedding ceremony held at your beachfront
hotel on the 14th of December 2024. As the groom, I paid a significant
amount for this event and had high expectations for its execution.
However, several issues resulted in a disappointing experience.
The ceremony was severely delayed
by over 45 minutes due to poor planning, which caused a great deal of inconvenience.
The reception area was misplaced and disorganized, and the decorations were not
as promised. Additionally, the beach setting was not properly maintained, with
debris scattered along the shore and an unpleasant smell.
The entertainment was also poorly
planned, with the band struggling to play requested songs and creating
an uncomfortable atmosphere. These frustrating issues annoyed both of
us, my bride and me, as well as our guests, and made this special day far from
the memorable occasion we had anticipated.
I would appreciate the possibility of a full refund
for the services that were not provided as expected. I look forward to hearing
from you soon regarding this matter.
Sincerely,
Elmer Santana
Special Cases of Word Formation through Affixation
1. Doubling Consonants in Suffixation
When a suffix starting with a vowel is added to a base word
that ends in a single consonant (and the preceding vowel is short), the
consonant is often doubled.
Examples:
- Run
→ Running (doubling of "n")
- Sit
→ Sitting (doubling of "t")
However, if the stress is on the first syllable, the
consonant is not doubled:
- Visit
→ Visiting (no doubling of "t")
2. Dropping the Final 'E'
When a suffix starting with a vowel (like -ing, -ed) is
added to a base word ending in a silent "e," the "e" is
often dropped.
Examples:
- Make
→ Making (e is dropped)
- Hope
→ Hoping (e is dropped)
3. Changing 'Y' to 'I'
When a word ends in "y" preceded by a consonant and
a suffix is added, the "y" changes to "i" (unless the
suffix begins with "i").
Example:
- Happy
→ Happier → Happiness
- Fly
→ Flies
However, note that when the suffix begins with
"i," the "y" is retained:
- Play
→ Playing
4. Infixation
While English doesn't commonly use infixes (affixes inserted
into the middle of a word), certain informal or colloquial expressions do use
them.
- un-freaking-believable (The
infix "freaking" is inserted for emphasis.)
- abso-bloody-lutely (A
playful insertion of "bloody" as an infix.)
5. Compound Words and Hyphenation
In some cases, when affixes are added to compound words,
they may require hyphenation for clarity, especially in informal contexts.
Examples:
- Old-fashioned
(compound word with a suffix)
- Double-checked
(when double becomes a verb with suffix)
6. Suffixes Affecting Stress and Vowel Changes
Certain affixes change the stress pattern of words, which
can sometimes cause spelling changes. For example, adding "-er" to a
verb often changes the stress from the second syllable to the first.
Examples:
- Photography
→ Photographer
- Apply
→ Application
7. Compounding with Affixes
English also forms complex words by combining affixes with
whole words (compounding), sometimes leading to irregular combinations.
Examples:
- blackboard (compounding
of black + board)
- toothbrush (compounding
of tooth + brush)
8. Latin or Greek rooted words
Some affixed words involve irregular spelling changes,
especially when the root word undergoes vowel changes, which is common with
Latin or Greek-derived words.
Examples:
- Create
→ Creation
- Vary
→ Variation
9. Affixation and Loanwords
Some words borrowed from other languages retain affixation
rules from the original language, creating exceptions in English.
- ballet (from
French) → balletic (adjective formation following French
pattern)
- automobile → automotive (adjective
form follows pattern from the original language)
10. Irregular Plurals
Some nouns form their plural with affixes that don't follow
regular rules, either by changing internal vowels or through complete word
shifts.
Examples:
- child → children (Irregular
plural; the affix "ren" replaces the original plural form.)
- foot → feet (The
vowel changes, no "s" is added.)
- tooth → teeth (Another
example of a vowel change instead of adding a standard plural suffix.)
11. Irregular Verb Forms
Some English verbs, when converted to their past tense or
past participle forms, do not follow regular affixation rules. Instead, they
undergo vowel changes or complete changes in form.
Examples:
- sing → sang (past
tense)
- go → went (past
tense)
- buy → bought (past
tense)
12. Irregular Comparatives
Certain adjectives have irregular comparative and
superlative forms, which don’t follow standard patterns of affixation.
Examples:
- good → better (comparative)
- bad → worse (comparative)
- far → farther or further (comparative)
References (APA 7 format):
Granger, S. (2020). The morphology of English: Understanding affixation and its implications. Oxford University Press.
Katamba, F., & Stonham, J. (2006). Morphology: A study of the form of words (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.
Hogg, R. M., & Denison, D. (2006). A history of the English language. Cambridge University Press.
Comentarios
Publicar un comentario