New Hampshire Foundations of Reading Practice Test

What is a characteristic of derivational affixes?

1. They do not change the part of speech

2. They change the meaning of the root word

3. They can only be added to nouns

4. They are always prefixes

The correct answer is: They change the meaning of the root word

Derivational affixes are a key component in morphology, which is the study of the structure of words. One of their primary characteristics is that they change the meaning of the root word. When a derivational affix is added to a root, it often transforms the meaning or nuance of that word, allowing for the creation of new words with distinct meanings. For example, when the prefix "un-" is added to the adjective "happy," it changes the meaning to "not happy." Similarly, adding the suffix "-ness" to the adjective "happy" transforms it into a noun, "happiness," which refers to the state of being happy. This demonstrates how derivational affixes not only alter the meaning but can also affect the grammatical category of the word, but this process is not limited to a specific part of speech. In contrast, other options suggest characteristics that do not align with the nature of derivational affixes. They can be added to various parts of speech, are not restricted to a particular type of word (such as nouns), and derivational affixes can be prefixes, suffixes, or infixes, meaning they are not always found at the beginning of a word. Thus, the role of derivational affixes in