Morphemes in “hopefully”
“hopefully” has 3 morphemes: hope + -ful + -ly.
hope
root
+
ful
suffix
+
ly
suffix
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are hope + -ful + -ly.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| hope | free root | free | a specific instance of feeling hopeful |
| -ful | derivational suffix | bound | full of, having |
| -ly | derivational suffix | bound | in the manner of; every (as in daily) |
How the word is built
hope → hopeful → hopefully
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “hope” 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 "hopefully"?
"hopefully" has three morphemes: hope + -ful + -ly.
How do you break "hopefully" into morphemes?
hope + -ful + -ly. The root is "hope"; -ful is a derivational suffix, -ly is a derivational suffix.
What is the root word of "hopefully"?
The root of "hopefully" is "hope", built up as hope → hopeful → hopefully.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.