Which phrase best describes a characteristic of a morpheme?

A. gives a word its principal meaning
B. the smallest meaningful unit in a language
C. has meaning on its own
D. added to a base or root

1 answer

The phrase that best describes a characteristic of a morpheme is:

B. the smallest meaningful unit in a language

This definition captures the essence of what a morpheme is, as it pertains to both free morphemes (which can stand alone) and bound morphemes (which must attach to other morphemes).