Which term correctly describes a morpheme that changes the lexical category of a word, such as forming an adverb from an adjective?

• A. Bound Morpheme
• B. Free Morpheme
• C. Derivational Morpheme
• D. Inflectional Morpheme

Answer: (C)

Changing the category a word belongs to is done by derivational morphemes. When a suffix like -ly attaches to an adjective, it creates a new word form that functions as an adverb, so the part of speech shifts from describing a noun with an adjective to modifying a verb or the action with an adverb. That shift in meaning and function is the hallmark of derivational morphology. The -ly suffix is bound, meaning it cannot stand alone, and its primary job here is to derive a new word form rather than just tweak grammar. Inflectional morphemes, by contrast, alter grammatical features like tense or number without changing the word’s part of speech, so they wouldn’t describe turning an adjective into an adverb.