Lexemes

What are lexemes???

 Lexemes are words with specific sounds with no reflection.

Additionally, are theoretical construct that correspond roughly to one of the common of the term. Its shape may vary depending on syntactic context.

Lexemes, also called word stems, are minimal units of language (often words) with distinctive meanings. The word cut is a lexeme that would be a dictionary entry, but its inflected versions, e.g., cuts, cutting, etc., may be included depending on the dictionary. These inflected versions may be included as variations. 

 Types of Lexemes 

 There are two types of lexemes: variable and invariable

 1.Variable lexemes

 are word-sized lexical items that may have two or more forms. These lexemes may be inflected by adding an affix or some other transformation of the word .

 Examples: dig/dug

 The following are ways to inflect words belonging various syntactic categories.

1. Nouns can change in number (bird, birds)

2.Verbs can change in tense or number (shape, shapes, shaped, shaping) 

3.Adjectives can change in degree (big, bigger, biggest) 

4.Adverbs can change in degree (good, better, best) 

5.Pronouns can change in case (you, your, yours)

 2.Invariable lexemes

On the other hand, only have one word corresponding to a particular meaning. Think of the words and so; they only have one form. There are no other versions of these words. Invariable lexemes are largely conjunctions (and, although, but) and prepositions (like through, by, up) which are largely function words.

NB!!! Essentially, the difference between variable and invariable lexemes is whether the word has various forms.                                                                                                                                             

WHY ARE LEXEMES IMPORTANT???

Lexemes carry the main meaning of a sentence, and function words join them to create a grammatically correct sentence or phrase. 

Lexemes are the headwords of dictionaries. An example of a lexeme is the word "walk" which is a lexeme that includes variations such as "walks," "walked," and "walking." 

 WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF A LEXEME??? 

 The function of lexemes is to communicate concepts,they are the main parts of speech that convey meaning, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and so on. 

 How many lexemes are there in the English language? 

 Generally, there are approximately 38,122 lexemes.

 Examples of lexemes are: 

 1.Walk: This is a lexeme that represents a basic action of moving by foot. Other words derived from this lexeme include walked, walking, walker, and walkable. 

 2.Happy: This is a lexeme that represents a feeling of joy or contentment. Other words derived from this lexeme include happiness, happier, and happily.

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