All GRE Subject Test: Psychology Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Language
How many morphemes are in the word "beaches"?
Morpheme refers to the smallest unit of language that carries meaning. In the word "beaches" there are two: "beach," and "es" which designates that the word is plural. By contrast, phonemes refer to the smallest units of sound.
Example Question #2 : Language
Which of the following is best defined as the smallest unit of language that carries meaning?
Phoneme
Word
Grammar
Morpheme
Concept
Morpheme
"Phonemes" are the smallest unit of language that create sound; however, "morphemes" are the smallest units that carry a meaning.
Example Question #2 : Language
A gorilla which has learned a limited form of sign language gains the attention of its trainer and signs the incomplete sentence "treat, bring now."
This is most closely an example of which of the following?
Telegraphic speech
Overgeneralization
Babbling
Syntax error
Language drift
Telegraphic speech
Telegraphic speech is speech during the two-word stage of language acquisition, consisting of commands or imperatives given in three-or-more word sentences consisting of functional words only. A sentence like "treat, bring now" contains enough to make the message effective, if not particularly precise.
Example Question #2 : Phonemes, Morphemes, & Phrases
Which of the following words contains an example of a cranberry morpheme?
Damaging
Deadly
Progeny
Killed
Sublimation
Progeny
A cranberry morpheme is a type of morpheme (the smallest meaningful unit of language) which has no independent meaning or function, but which still serves to distinguish one word from another. In this case, progeny contains the the cranberry morpheme '-geny', an obsolete term designating offspring which is also found in exogeny and endogeny.
Example Question #1 : Language
Which of the following words contains an example of a cranberry morpheme?
Hinterland
Thermometer
Destroyer
Unapologetic
Barometer
Hinterland
A cranberry morpheme is a type of morpheme (the smallest meaningful unit of language) which has no independent meaning or function, but which still serves to distinguish one word from another. In this case, the term hinterland contains the German word hinter ("behind"), paired with the free morpheme '-land'.
Example Question #2 : Language
The addition of a string of phonologically absent symbols onto a word creates which of the following?
Null morpheme
Cranberry morpheme
Allomorph
None of these
Contraindicated morpheme
Null morpheme
Null morphemes are theorized to be those morpheme strings which, while possessing no identifying characteristics, nonetheless allow us to differentiate between different forms of a word. Morphologists propose various theories for how these null morphemes may exist and whether or not we learn them naturally as part of the process of language acquisition.
Example Question #4 : Phonemes, Morphemes, & Phrases
Which of the following pairs of words best illustrates the definition of an allomorph?
Kindly. . . Unkind
All of these
Helped. . . Trapped
Greatness. . . Grateful
Bubbles. . . Cats
Bubbles. . . Cats
An allomorph occurs when a morpheme varies in pronunciation but not in meaning. For example, the pluralizing morpheme "s/es" in English sounds like "z" in bubbles, but like "s" in cats. Recognition of these allomorphs is often much more difficult for non-native speakers of a language.
Example Question #5 : Phonemes, Morphemes, & Phrases
Which of the following pairs of words best illustrates the definition of an allomorph?
Depth. . . Width
Wasted. . . Wished
Blasts. . . Hikes
Flavoring. . . Seasoning
None of these
Wasted. . . Wished
An allomorph occurs when a morpheme varies in pronunciation but not in meaning. For example, the pluralizing morpheme "ed" sounds like a "schwa" in wasted but like "t" in wished.
Example Question #2 : Language
Which of the following is not an example of a derivative morpheme?
Make. . . Maker
None of these
Sell. . . Seller
Smile. . . Smiler
Wise. . . Wiser
Wise. . . Wiser
Derivational morphemes change either the semantic meaning or the part of speech to which the base word belongs. For example, in the word atypical the derivational morpheme a- reverses the meaning of the word typical to mean "not typical". The usage of the morpheme -er to change "wise" to "wiser", on the other hand, is inflectional only, as it only changes the comparative state of the associated adjective wise.
Example Question #1 : Phonemes, Morphemes, & Phrases
Which of the following is not an example of a inflectional morpheme?
Word. . . Words
Kind. . . Kindest
Cruel. . . Cruelty
None of these
Drag. . . Dragged
Cruel. . . Cruelty
Inflectional morphemes are morphemes which modify either a noun/pronoun/adjective's number, gender, or case, or a verb's tense, mood, number, person or aspect, but do not chance the word's overall meaning or the part of speech to which the word belongs. The morpheme -ty at the end of the word cruel changes the word from an adjective to a noun, and is thus an example of a derivational morpheme.