Which term describes a morpheme that cannot stand alone as a word?

• A. Free Morpheme
• B. Bound Morpheme
• C. Morpheme
• D. Affix

Answer: (B)

A bound morpheme is a unit of meaning that cannot stand alone and must attach to a base or stem to convey its meaning. This is what makes it different from a free morpheme, which can function as a word by itself—like book or run. For bound morphemes, you typically see endings or beginnings that modify meaning or grammar, such as -ed for past tense in walked or un- for negation in unhappy. Because the question asks for the term describing a morpheme that cannot stand alone, bound morpheme is the best fit. An affix is a bound morpheme that attaches to a base (prefixes and suffixes), but the core idea is the inability to stand alone, which defines bound morphemes in general. The broader term morpheme includes both free and bound forms, so it doesn’t specify whether it can stand alone.