The null morpheme is a morpheme with no phonetic form. It can be considered an invisible affix. The null morpheme is often represented with the symbol Ø.
The singular of English nouns can be represented with the null morpheme. This contrasts with the plural morpheme -s. Here are examples:
book + Ø = singular
book + s = plural
chair + Ø = singular
chair + s = plural
table + Ø = singular
table + s = plural
The null morpheme can also indicate the plural of irregular nouns:
sheep + Ø = singular
sheep + Ø = plural
The null morpheme also marks the present tense of verbs which are not third person singular.
he/she run + s = third person singular
they run + Ø = third person plural
I run + Ø = first person singular
The null morpheme is common not only in English but also in other languages. It is very useful for illustrating contrasts with overt morphemes. In English the null morpheme exhibits contrasts with the plural morpheme and the third personal singular verb morpheme.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
-
Most English compound nouns are endocentric. This means that the central meaning of the compound is carried by the head. The head of English... -
The opera Turandot features an Asian princess who many men wish to marry. However, if they wish to do so, they must answer three riddles c...
-
All English sentences can be classified as canonical and non-canonical clauses. Canonical clauses are the most basic sentences we can constr...
No comments:
Post a Comment