Inside the noun: root, ending and word families
How a noun is made (root + ending) and the four types: primitive, derived, altered and compound.
First page · how a noun is made
Root, ending and the four types of noun
Primitivi
casafiorelibropanemare
Derivati
fioraiolibreriapanettieremarino
Alterati
casettalibronegattinoragazzaccio
Composti
capostazioneportafoglioasciugamanoarcobaleno
: Every noun is made of two parts: the root, which carries the meaning and doesn't change (cas-, gatt-, libr-), and the ending, the final part that changes to show gender and number (cas-a, cas-e; gatt-o, gatt-i).
| Nome | Le due parti | |
|---|---|---|
| Nome | radice | desinenza |
| casa | cas- | -a |
| case | cas- | -e |
| ragazzo | ragazz- | -o |
| ragazzi | ragazz- | -i |
| fiore | fior- | -e |
| fiori | fior- | -i |
Regola d'oro
A noun is like a tree: the root stays put and carries the meaning, while the branches (prefixes and suffixes) grow new words. From "fiore" grow fioraio, fioriera, fiorellino: they change shape, but the root fior- stays there to remind us what we're talking about.
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