Spect, duct, and rupt are examples of what?

Spect, duct, and rupt are examples of what?

• A. Free morphemes
• B. Bound bases
• C. Prefixes
• D. Suffixes

Answer: (B)

Bound bases are base morphemes that cannot stand alone as words. spect, duct, and rupt each carry a core meaning—look, lead, and break—and function as the central pieces of larger words, with prefixes or suffixes attached to expand their meaning. For example, spect appears in inspect, spectator, and spectacle; duct appears in conduct, abduct, and product; rupt appears in interrupt, erupt, and rupture. Since these pieces can’t stand alone as words, they’re not free morphemes, nor are they prefixes or suffixes themselves.

Bound bases are base morphemes that cannot stand alone as words. spect, duct, and rupt each carry a core meaning—look, lead, and break—and function as the central pieces of larger words, with prefixes or suffixes attached to expand their meaning. For example, spect appears in inspect, spectator, and spectacle; duct appears in conduct, abduct, and product; rupt appears in interrupt, erupt, and rupture. Since these pieces can’t stand alone as words, they’re not free morphemes, nor are they prefixes or suffixes themselves.