What is the smallest language item that can occur on its own?

• A. Aspect
• B. Word
• C. Collocation
• D. Fixed Expression

Answer: (B)

The smallest item that can occur on its own is a word because it is a free morpheme that can stand alone with its own form and meaning. Bound morphemes, such as suffixes or inflections, cannot appear by themselves—they need to attach to a word. The other options are larger units: an aspect is a grammatical category that involves verbs and other elements; a collocation is a familiar pair or group of words that typically occur together; a fixed expression is a conventional multiword phrase. While those units function as single expressions, they are not single, standalone words. Hence, a word is the correct answer.