Which morpheme type is illustrated by prefixes such as pre-, anti-, sub-?

• A. Derivational morphemes
• B. Inflectional morphemes
• C. Free morphemes
• D. Bound morphemes

Answer: (A)

Prefixes like pre-, anti-, and sub- attach to base words to change their meaning or create a new word, sometimes even shifting the word’s part of speech. That function—deriving a new lexical item from an existing word—is what a derivational morpheme does. Inflectional morphemes, on the other hand, mainly signal tense, number, or other grammatical features and don’t typically produce new words. Although these prefixes cannot stand alone and are bound morphemes, the concept being tested here highlights their role in creating new meanings and words, which is why derivational morphemes is the best answer. Example: preheat, antiviral, submarine.