All GRE Subject Test: Psychology Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #2 : Phonemes, Morphemes, & Phrases
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
Syntax error
Overgeneralization
Babbling
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 #1 : Phonemes, Morphemes, & Phrases
Which of the following words contains an example of a cranberry morpheme?
Sublimation
Damaging
Killed
Progeny
Deadly
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 #342 : Gre Subject Test: Psychology
Which of the following words contains an example of a cranberry morpheme?
Hinterland
Barometer
Unapologetic
Thermometer
Destroyer
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 #1 : Language
The addition of a string of phonologically absent symbols onto a word creates which of the following?
Contraindicated morpheme
Allomorph
None of these
Null morpheme
Cranberry 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 #1 : Phonemes, Morphemes, & Phrases
Which of the following pairs of words best illustrates the definition of an allomorph?
Bubbles. . . Cats
All of these
Greatness. . . Grateful
Helped. . . Trapped
Kindly. . . Unkind
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?
None of these
Blasts. . . Hikes
Flavoring. . . Seasoning
Wasted. . . Wished
Depth. . . Width
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 #341 : Gre Subject Test: Psychology
Which of the following is not an example of a derivative morpheme?
Wise. . . Wiser
Make. . . Maker
None of these
Smile. . . Smiler
Sell. . . Seller
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 : Language
Which of the following is not an example of a inflectional morpheme?
Cruel. . . Cruelty
Word. . . Words
Kind. . . Kindest
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.
Example Question #341 : Gre Subject Test: Psychology
Telegraphic speech, where morphemic usage is limited to very short usage, is commonly seen in adults as a symptom of which of the following?
Nominal aphasia
Dysarthria
Word salad
All of these
Non-fluent aphasia
Non-fluent aphasia
Non-fluent aphasia, such as Broca's aphasia, is often triggered by damage due to stroke or other cardiovascular problem, and often produces the short, morpheme-absent language typical of telegraphic speech.
Example Question #12 : Language
Which of the following correctly mirrors the types of inflectional morphemes below:
Possessive. . . Superlative. . . Past Tense. . . Past Participle
Zach's. . . Strongest. . . Proven. . . Joined
Its. . . Highest. . . Waited. . . Waited
None of these
Mine. . . Greater. . . Held. . . Swinging
Cars. . . Grandest. . . Ran. . . Jumps
Its. . . Highest. . . Waited. . . Waited
The answer makes more sense when you realize that the past tense and past participle of the verb wait are both waited. Consider the sentences "I waited for John for half an hour" and "I had waited for John for half an hour" -- both grammatically correct, but implying different things about the present.
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