Illinois Reading Specialist Practice Test

The suffix "-less" is classified as a derivational morpheme because it is used to create a new word by modifying the meaning of the base word to which it is attached. In this case, "-less" adds the meaning of "without" to the root word, transforming it into an adjective. For example, attaching "-less" to "hope" creates "hopeless," indicating a lack of hope.

Derivational morphemes, such as "-less," often change the part of speech or the overall meaning of the original word, whereas inflectional morphemes typically modify a word to express different grammatical features without creating a new word (for instance, changing a verb from present to past tense). Compound morphemes involve combining two or more root words, and root morphemes are the base units from which words are formed without any additional affixes. Therefore, the classification of "-less" as a derivational morpheme accurately reflects its function in word formation.