Lesson 2: Building Blocks

Question 1

What is a morpheme?

Answer 1

The smallest unit of meaning in a word.

Question 2

True or False: A morpheme and a syllable are the same thing.

Answer 2

False. A syllable is a sound unit, while a morpheme has meaning.

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a morpheme? A) un- B) -ing C) blorp D) happy

Answer 3

C) blorp (It has no meaning).

Question 4

What are the four types of morphemes?

Answer 4

Base words, root words, prefixes, and suffixes.

Question 5

True or False: A prefix and a suffix are both types of morphemes.

Answer 5

True. They both add meaning to words.

Question 6

Fill in the blank: A base word is a word that can __________.

Answer 6

Stand alone and have meaning.

Question 7

Fill in the blank: A root word is a word part that carries meaning but ______________.

Answer 7

Cannot always stand alone.

Question 8

What does the root word “port” mean in words like “transport” and “portable”?

Answer 8

To carry.

Question 9

Which of the following words contains only one morpheme? A) Restart B) Running C) Cat D) Unhappy

Answer 9

C) Cat (It cannot be broken down further).

Question 10

Break apart the word “mismatched” into its morphemes.

Answer 10

Mis- (wrong) + match (pair) + -ed (past tense).

Question 11

What does the prefix “pre-“ mean?

Answer 11

Before (e.g., preview = view before).

Question 12

Identify the prefix in the word “disagree”.

Answer 12

Dis-

Question 13

True or False: A prefix always comes at the end of a word.

Answer 13

False. A prefix comes at the beginning.

Question 14

Multiple Choice: Which of these words contains a prefix? A) Teach B) Replay C) Cat D) Strong

Answer 14

B) Replay (Prefix: re- meaning again).

Question 15

Break down the word “unfinished” into morphemes.

Answer 15

Un- (not) + finish + -ed (past tense).

Question 16

What does the suffix “-less” mean?

Answer 16

Without (e.g., hopeless = without hope).

Question 17

Identify the suffix in the word “carefully”.

Answer 17

-ly

Question 18

Which of these words contains a suffix? A) Jumping B) Rewind C) Submarine D) Happy

Answer 18

A) Jumping (Suffix: -ing meaning happening now).

Question 19

Fill in the blank: The suffix “-er” can mean ______________.

Answer 19

One who does something (e.g., teacher = one who teaches).

Question 20

True or False: The suffix “-ed” changes a word to past tense.

Answer 20

True.

Question 21

Can you think of a prefix or suffix to add to the word bright?

Answer 21

Possible answers: Brighten, brightness, brightly.

Question 22

Can you think of a prefix or suffix to add to the word friend?

Answer 22

Possible answers: Friendly, friendship, unfriendly.

Question 23

Can you think of a prefix or suffix to add to the word happy?

Answer 23

Possible answers: Unhappy, happiness, happily.

Question 24

Can you think of a prefix or suffix to add to the word love?

Answer 24

Possible answers: Lovable, lovely, unloved.

Question 25

Can you think of a prefix or suffix to add to the word believe?

Answer 25

Possible answers: Unbelievable, believer, believing.

Question 26

True or False: A root word and a base word are the same thing.

Answer 26

False. A base word can stand alone, but a root word usually cannot.

Question 27

True or False: The word "rereading" contains two morphemes.

Answer 27

False. It has three: re- (again) + read + -ing (happening now).

Question 28

True or False: Every word has at least one morpheme.

Answer 28

True! Every word has meaning, and morphemes are the building blocks of meaning.

Question 29

Which of the following words is an example of a base word? A) Dislike B) Helpful C) Play D) Uncertain

Answer 29

C) Play (It can stand alone as a word).

Question 30

Which of the following contains a root word from Latin or Greek? A) Unkind B) Biography C) Played D) Redo

Answer 30

B) Biography (bio- = life, graph- = writing).

Question 31

Break apart the word "reaction" into morphemes.

Answer 31

Re- (again) + act + -ion (state of).

Question 32

Break apart the word "preview" into morphemes.

Answer 32

Pre- (before) + view (to see).

Question 33

Break apart the word "hopeful" into morphemes.

Answer 33

Hope + -ful (full of).

Question 34

Break apart the word "transportation" into morphemes.

Answer 34

Trans- (across) + port (carry) + -ation (act of).

Question 35

Fill in the blank: A prefix is a word part that is added to the ______ of a word.

Answer 35

Beginning.

Question 36

Fill in the blank: A suffix is a word part that is added to the ______ of a word.

Answer 36

End.

Question 37

Fill in the blank: The suffix "-ness" turns a word into a ________.

Answer 37

Noun (e.g., kind → kindness).

Question 38

Fill in the blank: The root word "scrib/script" means ________.

Answer 38

To write (describe, inscription).

Question 39

True or False: A word can have more than one morpheme.

Answer 39

✅ True! Many words have a prefix, a base word, and a suffix (e.g., unhappily = un- + happy + -ly).

Question 40

True or False: The word "running" has two morphemes.

Answer 40

✅ True. Run (base word) + -ing (present participle).

Question 41

Multiple Choice: Which of these words has a prefix and a suffix? A) Unhappy B) Teacher C) Rereading D) Strongest

Answer 41

✅ C) Rereading (Re- + read + -ing).

Question 42

Multiple Choice: Which of the following words contains a root from Latin or Greek? A) Happiness B) Predict C) Careless D) Fastest

Answer 42

✅ B) Predict (Pre- = before, dict = to say).

Question 43

Break down the word "misinformation" into morphemes.

Answer 43

Mis- (wrong) + inform (to give knowledge) + -ation (act of).

Question 44

Break down the word "unbelievable" into morphemes.

Answer 44

Un- (not) + believe + -able (capable of).

Question 45

Fill in the blank: The root word "scrib/script" means ________.

Answer 45

To write (describe, inscription).

Question 46

Fill in the blank: The suffix "-less" means ________.

Answer 46

Without (hopeless, fearless).

Question 47

True or False: The word "pretest" has two morphemes.

Answer 47

✅ True. Pre- (before) + test.

Question 48

Multiple Choice: Which of these base words can have both a prefix and a suffix? A) Teach B) Kind C) Play D) Help

Answer 48

✅ D) Help (Unhelpful, helpful, helpless).

Question 49

What does the morpheme "bio-" mean in words like "biology" and "biodegradable"?

Answer 49

Life (biology = study of life).

Question 50

How does knowing morphemes help with reading and spelling?

Answer 50

✅ It helps you break down longer words, recognize meaning patterns, and spell words correctly by identifying consistent word parts.