Lexical morphemes and grammatical morphemes serve different functions in language, and here's how they are distinguished:
-
Lexical morphemes have their own word meaning: This is correct. Lexical morphemes are the building blocks of a language's vocabulary and carry specific meanings. Examples include nouns (e.g., "cat"), verbs (e.g., "run"), adjectives (e.g., "happy"), and adverbs (e.g., "quickly").
-
Grammatical morphemes are always bound: This is often true, as many grammatical morphemes, such as prefixes and suffixes that modify the meaning of a word or indicate tense (e.g., "-ed" in "walked" or "un-" in "unhappy"), cannot stand alone and must be attached to a lexical morpheme. However, some grammatical morphemes can be free, like articles ("the," "a") or prepositions ("in," "on"), which can stand alone.
-
Lexical morphemes are always free: This statement is generally true, as lexical morphemes are typically free morphemes; they can stand alone as words. However, there may be bound morphemes that still convey meaning (like roots in some languages), but in English, most of what's recognized as lexical morphemes are free.
-
Grammatical morphemes are more common: This is misleading. While grammatical morphemes serve important functions (like tense, aspect, mood, etc.), lexical morphemes generally constitute the bulk of a language's vocabulary, making them abundant in communication.
In summary, the primary distinguishing factor is that lexical morphemes carry specific meanings and can stand alone, while grammatical morphemes primarily serve to modify or indicate relationships between lexical morphemes and often attach to them.