In Portuguese, the morphology it is a part of linguistics that studies the structures and/or formation of words. From the Greek, the word morphology corresponds to the union of the terms “morph” (shape) and “logy" (study).
Morphological Classes
In general, morphology studies the origin, derivations and inflections of words, expressed, in Portuguese, by ten morphological classes or grammatical according to the function of each.
They are classified into:
- variable words: noun, adjective, pronoun, numeral, article and verb. They can vary in gender (male and female), number (singular and plural) and degree (augmentative and diminutive)
- invariant words: preposition, conjunction, interjection and adverb.
nouns: name beings in general, being classified in nouns: simple, compound, concrete, abstract, primitive, derivative, collective, common and proper.
Adjectives: attribute qualities and states to beings being classified into adjectives: simple, compound, primitive and derivative.
Pronouns: accompany the nouns in a way that can replace them; are classified into pronouns: personal (straight case and oblique case), possessive, demonstrative, treatment, indefinite, relative, interrogative.
Numerals: determine the amount of everything that exists being classified into: cardinal, ordinal, fractional, collective and multiplicative.
Articles: determine the number and gender of words being classified into definite and indefinite article.
Verbs: indicate actions, state or phenomenon being classified into regular and irregular verbs.
prepositions: connect two terms of the clause through a subordinate relationship. In this way, according to the established circumstance, they are classified in preposition: place, mode, time, distance, cause, instrument and purpose.
conjunctions: connect two similar terms grammatically, being classified as: coordinating conjunction (additive, adversative, alternative, conclusive and explanatory); and subordinate conjunction (integrant, causal, comparative, concessive, conditional, conformative, consecutive, temporal, final and proportional).
Interjections: indicate emotions, feelings, sensations and state of mind being classified into interjections of: warning, greeting, help, driving away, joy, sadness, fear, relief, excitement, approval, disapproval, agreement, wish, excuse, doubt, amazement, setback.
adverbs: modify a verb, an adjective or another adverb and are classified according to the circumstances they express: mode, intensity, place, time, negation, affirmation, doubt.
Note that morphology is a term used in other areas, for example, in biology (plant morphology, animal morphology, etc.), geology (study of landforms), among others.
Read too: morphological analysis and Morphology Exercises.