Which term refers to affixes that change the function or meaning of a word, such as -ly, -ate, or -ion?

Which term refers to affixes that change the function or meaning of a word, such as -ly, -ate, or -ion?

• A. Prefix
• B. Derivational Morphemes
• C. Root Word
• D. Inflectional Suffix

Answer: (B)

Derivational morphemes are affixes that change the function or meaning of a word. They attach to a base to form a new word or shift its part of speech. For example, -ly turns an adjective into an adverb (bright → brightly), -ate can create a verb from a noun or adjective (activate, educate), and -ion forms a noun from a verb (create → creation). These changes go beyond simple grammatical tweaks—they create new words or change the word’s category. Inflectional suffixes, by contrast, add grammatical information like tense or number without changing the word’s meaning or class (walk → walked; cat → cats). So the term for affixes like -ly, -ate, and -ion is derivational morphemes.

Derivational morphemes are affixes that change the function or meaning of a word. They attach to a base to form a new word or shift its part of speech. For example, -ly turns an adjective into an adverb (bright → brightly), -ate can create a verb from a noun or adjective (activate, educate), and -ion forms a noun from a verb (create → creation). These changes go beyond simple grammatical tweaks—they create new words or change the word’s category. Inflectional suffixes, by contrast, add grammatical information like tense or number without changing the word’s meaning or class (walk → walked; cat → cats). So the term for affixes like -ly, -ate, and -ion is derivational morphemes.