What is a free morpheme?

A free morpheme is indeed a morpheme that can stand alone as a word. This means it has its own meaning and does not require attachment to other morphemes to convey a concept. For example, words like "book," "run," or "happy" are all free morphemes because they can independently function as complete words in a sentence.

In contrast, other types of morphemes, such as bound morphemes, cannot stand alone and must be attached to free morphemes to convey meaning. For instance, prefixes and suffixes are typically bound morphemes that modify the meaning of free morphemes (like "un-" in "unhappy" or "-ed" in "walked"). Understanding the distinction between free and bound morphemes is crucial in the study of language structure and is fundamental in multi-sensory structured language education, where identifying and manipulating morphemes can enhance literacy skills.