What best describes free morphemes?

• A. Independent; Their meaning does not depend on the addition of another morpheme.
• B. They must always require a bound morpheme to convey meaning.
• C. They are only found in ASL signs, not in spoken language.
• D. They are defined by their position in a sentence.

Answer: (A)

Free morphemes are units of meaning that can stand alone as words. Their meaning doesn’t depend on attaching another morpheme. Think of words like book, eat, or happy—they convey a complete idea by themselves. They can still take bound morphemes to show plurality, tense, or other grammar (for example, cat becomes cats when a bound plural marker is added). The essential point is independence: a free morpheme can function as a complete word without needing additional morphemes. This concept appears in all languages, including ASL, and isn’t defined by where a word appears in a sentence.