Morphemes in “alive”
“alive” has 2 morphemes: a- + live.
a
prefix
+
live
root
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are a- + live.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| a- | derivational prefix | bound | not, without (Greek a-); also 'in a state of' (asleep) |
| live | free root | free | actually being performed at the time of hearing or viewing |
How the word is built
live → alive
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “live” is where the chain starts.
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Segmentation derived from MorphyNet (Batsuren, Bella & Giunchiglia, 2021; CC BY-SA 3.0, built from Wiktionary), with hand-written affix glosses and root meanings from WordNet. Reviewed for classroom use; tell us if you spot an error.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many morphemes are in "alive"?
"alive" has two morphemes: a- + live.
How do you break "alive" into morphemes?
a- + live. The root is "live"; a- is a derivational prefix.
What is the root word of "alive"?
The root of "alive" is "live", built up as live → alive.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.