Which term describes the basic unit of meaning that cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts?

Which term describes the basic unit of meaning that cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts?

• A. Morpheme
• B. Phoneme
• C. Grapheme
• D. Allomorph

Answer: (A)

The concept tested is morphemes, the smallest units of meaning in a language. A morpheme carries semantic content and cannot be divided into smaller parts that also have meaning. For example, in the word cats, there are two morphemes: cat, which can stand alone with meaning, and -s, a bound morpheme that marks plural. Some morphemes attach to others to modify meaning, like -ness in happiness, but they still remain indivisible as units of meaning. By contrast, phonemes are only sound units that distinguish words and don’t carry meaning by themselves, graphemes are written symbols representing sounds or morphemes, and allomorphs are different pronunciations of the same morpheme. So the correct term for the basic unit of meaning that cannot be divided is morpheme.

The concept tested is morphemes, the smallest units of meaning in a language. A morpheme carries semantic content and cannot be divided into smaller parts that also have meaning. For example, in the word cats, there are two morphemes: cat, which can stand alone with meaning, and -s, a bound morpheme that marks plural. Some morphemes attach to others to modify meaning, like -ness in happiness, but they still remain indivisible as units of meaning. By contrast, phonemes are only sound units that distinguish words and don’t carry meaning by themselves, graphemes are written symbols representing sounds or morphemes, and allomorphs are different pronunciations of the same morpheme. So the correct term for the basic unit of meaning that cannot be divided is morpheme.