Which term refers to morphemes added to the end of a base word to modify its meaning?

Which term refers to morphemes added to the end of a base word to modify its meaning?

• A. Prefixes
• B. CVC
• C. Suffixes
• D. Onset

Answer: (C)

Morphemes added to the end of a base word to modify its meaning are suffixes. Suffixes attach at the word’s end and can change tense or number or even the word’s part of speech, as in adding -ing to a verb to show ongoing action (play → playing), -ed to indicate past tense (play → played), or -s to make a noun plural (book → books). Prefixes attach to the beginning of a word, which is why they’re not the right choice here. Onset refers to the initial consonant sound of a syllable, and CVC describes a syllable pattern (consonant–vowel–consonant), not a morpheme attached to the end.

Morphemes added to the end of a base word to modify its meaning are suffixes. Suffixes attach at the word’s end and can change tense or number or even the word’s part of speech, as in adding -ing to a verb to show ongoing action (play → playing), -ed to indicate past tense (play → played), or -s to make a noun plural (book → books). Prefixes attach to the beginning of a word, which is why they’re not the right choice here. Onset refers to the initial consonant sound of a syllable, and CVC describes a syllable pattern (consonant–vowel–consonant), not a morpheme attached to the end.