Root and ending in nouns, adjectives and verbs

The concepts of root and ending they refer to two basic constituents of variable words. So, a root is the invariable part of a word. In many cases, it provides the semantic meaning. For its part, the ending is the minimum unit of grammatical meaning. This offers information regarding gender, number, time, and other grammatical accidents.

For example, when analyzing the word we will drink there are two elements: baby + we will. In this case,"baby"is the root. If compared to other forms (baby, baby, baby), it is observed that the particle remains unchanged. On the other hand,"eremos"provides information about person (us), number (plural) and time (future).

Now, many authors equate the notions of root and ending with those of lexeme and morpheme, respectively. According to some linguistic currents, it is simply a change of label.

However, other authors point out an essential difference. For the case of the root, this may or may not have lexical meaning, but the lexeme must have it. Thus, some words - like articles or demonstratives - are considered roots, but not lexemes.

Sometimes, it is difficult to establish the phonic border between root and ending. Such is the case of"I go". There it is more practical to speak of lexeme or lexical meaning: I go = to move from one place to another.

On the other hand, morphemes are divided into inflectional and derivative. The latter form families of words (book, libr / ero , libr / laughed , libr / aco ). The former indicate inflectional forms such as gender, number, time, and others. Only inflectional morphemes are used in the ending.

In addition, it must be specified that the roots, although they are defined as invariable, may have variations. This is the case of the polyrrhite verbs ser, go and haber. Observe the different forms: I am / I went / I will be, you go / you went / go and we have / we will have / we will have.

Root and ending in nouns

In Spanish, when it comes to nouns, the ending only marks two grammatical accidents: gender and number. A noun is the word that names people, things (real or imaginary) and animals.

The grammatical gender is an inherent property of this class of words, and two are distinguished: male and female. For its part, the number indicates quantity: one (singular) or more than one (plural).

Gender

With respect to gender, there are two endings:"o"(masculine) and"a"(feminine). Observe the following pairs:

• Hairdresser or - Hairdresser to
• Brother - Sister
• Candidate - Candidate
• Cat Cat

Some nouns have ø ending; that is, it does not change its form for male or female. Examples:

• Patient (the patient)
• Victim (the victim)
• Artist (the artist)

In addition, things (real or imaginary) have a fixed gender. A few accept both, but the ending is ø. Note the following cases:

• The bookstore (female)
• The living room (male)
• The revolution (male)
• The idea (female)
• The sea (male and female)
• The radio (male and female)

Number

In the case of the number, only the plural is marked. In general, the ending is"s". This has an allomorph (variant), dependent on the phonic context.

Examples:

• Hairdresser you
• Sisters
• Patients
• Victims
• Artists
• Bookstores
• Rooms
• Revolutions
• Ideas
• Mares

Similarly, there is an ending ø for the plural of some nouns.

Examples:

• The thesis
• The hypothesis

Root and ending in adjectives

In general, the root and ending in the case of adjectives behave in the same way as nouns. This means that it has endings for masculine, feminine and plural.

But it also presents a final for the superlative: very. The superlative expresses a comparison in its maximum degree.

Examples:

• Attractive - Attractive (male - female)
• Small - Small (singular -plural)
• Free (desinence ø)
• Excellent (desinence ø)
• Most High (superlative)
• Great (superlative)

Root and ending in verbs

The ending, or variable part, of the verbs indicates person, number, time and mode. These endings exhibit stable patterns depending on whether the infinitive ends in -ar, -er or -ir. On the other hand, the roots (especially of the verbs finished in -ir) can have variants.

Verb finished in -ar

Table 1 (swim)

Verb finished in -er

Table 2 (drink)

Verb finished in -ir

Table 3 (depart)

References

1. García García, S.; Meilán García, A. J. and Martínez García, H. (2004). Build well in Spanish: the form of words. Oviedo: Ediuno.
2. Gómez Manzano, P.; Estévez Rodríguez, A.; García-Page Sánchez, M. and Cuesta Martínez, P. (2002). Grammar and expression exercises: With theoretical notions. Madrid: University Press Ramon Areces.
3. Rodríguez Guzmán, J. P. (2005). Graphic grammar to the juampedrino mode. Barcelona: Carena Editions.
4. Compare Rizo, J.J. (2007). Spanish Grammar Jalisco: Threshold editions.
5. Basterrechea, E. and Rello, L. (2010). The verb in Spanish. Madrid: Mill of ideas.
6. Stanley Whitley, M. and González, L. (2007). Grammar for the composition. Washington D. C.: Georgetown University Press.
7. Cuenca Bravo, M. (2016). Communication in Spanish. Level II. Madrid: Editorial CEP.