The study of word forms and their component parts is called?

• A. Morphology
• B. Phonology
• C. Syntax
• D. Semantics

Answer: (A)

Morphology is the study of word forms and how they are built from smaller units called morphemes—roots, prefixes, and suffixes—and how those parts combine to create different words and grammatical forms. This explains why words change to show tense, number, or part of speech, such as talk becoming talked or cat becoming cats. Phonology focuses on sounds, syntax on how words form sentences, and semantics on meaning, so they don’t address word structure in the same way.