4. How are affixes classified? (四川大学2008研) 【答案】 Considering the free and bound morpheme, affix is the collective term for the type of formative that can be used only when added to another morpheme, so it is naturally bound. Depending on their position with reference to the root or stem of the word, affixes are generally classified into three subtypes, namely, prefix, suffix, and infix. For examples, “para-” as prefix, “-tion” as suffix, and “-bloomingly-” in word “abso-bloomingly-luty” as infix. Affix can also be classified depending on the distinction between inflectional affixes and derivational affixes. The former often only add a minute grammatical function to the stem and do not change the word class of the word they attach to; while the latter are very productive in making new words and often change the lexical meaning. For instances, “-s” in words “toys”, “walks” and “John’s” is inflectional affixes, while “-tion” is a derivational affix in word “recitation