Morphology vs. Syntax — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on September 21, 2023
"Morphology" studies the structure and formation of words. "Syntax" examines how words combine to form sentences. Both are subfields of linguistics.
Difference Between Morphology and Syntax
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
"Morphology" delves into the inner workings and composition of words, studying their smallest meaningful components known as morphemes. Conversely, "Syntax" shifts the focus from individual words to their arrangement and interplay within sentences, ensuring coherent expression.
Diving deeper into "Morphology," one would encounter discussions on affixes, root words, and how they come together to convey meaning. In the realm of "Syntax," the discussion revolves around subjects, predicates, objects, and the roles of various words in a sentence.
As a linguistic endeavor, "Morphology" might answer questions about why "unhappiness" means what it does by breaking down "un-" (a prefix) and "-ness" (a suffix). "Syntax," on the other hand, might clarify why "The cat chased the mouse" is syntactically correct, but "Chased the mouse the cat" might sound off to native speakers.
In essence, "Morphology" equips one with the tools to understand and form words correctly, while "Syntax" provides the guidelines for assembling these words into structured, comprehensible sentences.
Both "Morphology" and "Syntax" are foundational to understanding and mastering any language. While "Morphology" ensures the correct formation and inflection of words, "Syntax" guarantees that these words interact and align in a manner that makes sense to the listeners or readers.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Study of the structure and formation of words.
Examination of how words combine to form sentences.
Primary Focus
Morphemes and word formation.
Sentence structure and word order.
Examples
Prefixes, suffixes, stems.
Subjects, predicates, objects.
Applications
Understanding word derivatives, compounding, inflection.
Parsing sentences, understanding grammaticality.
Significance
Determines how words evolve and are constructed.
Dictates the correct arrangement of words in sentences.
Compare with Definitions
Morphology
The study of the forms of words.
Morphology helps us understand the difference between run and running.
Syntax
The study of the rules governing sentence structure.
Syntax examines the order and relationship between the subject, verb, and object.
Morphology
A linguistic discipline focusing on the internal structure of words.
Through morphology, we learn how unbelievable is constructed from believe with the addition of prefixes and suffixes.
Syntax
The set of rules that dictate the sequence and connection of words in sentences.
Syntax clarifies why Blue the sky is sounds off to English speakers.
Morphology
Investigation of the rules governing the combination of morphemes.
Morphology can reveal why geese is the plural of goose.
Syntax
The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences.
Syntax helps us discern why She loves the dog is correct, while Loves she dog the is not.
Morphology
The study of the forms of things.
Syntax
A linguistic discipline concerned with how words combine in language.
Due to syntax, The cat sat on the mat is a coherent English sentence.
Morphology
A particular form, shape, or structure.
Syntax
Examination of the patterns governing how words form clauses and sentences.
Syntax defines the difference between a statement, a question, and a command in terms of word order.
Morphology
The branch of biology that deals with the form and structure of organisms without consideration of function.
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax () is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, agreement, the nature of crosslinguistic variation, and the relationship between form and meaning.
Morphology
The form and structure of an organism or one of its parts
The morphology of a cell.
The morphology of vertebrates.
Syntax
The study of the rules whereby words or other elements of sentence structure are combined to form grammatical sentences.
Morphology
(Linguistics) The study of the structure and form of words in language or a language, including inflection, derivation, and the formation of compounds.
Syntax
A publication, such as a book, that presents such rules.
Morphology
(uncountable) A scientific study of form and structure, usually without regard to function. Especially:
Syntax
The pattern of formation of sentences or phrases in a language.
Morphology
(linguistics) The study of the internal structure of morphemes (words and their semantic building blocks).
Syntax
Such a pattern in a particular sentence or discourse.
Morphology
(biology) The study of the form and structure of animals and plants.
Syntax
(Computers) The rules governing the formation of statements in a programming language.
Morphology
(geology) The study of the structure of rocks and landforms.
Syntax
A systematic, orderly arrangement.
Morphology
(math) Mathematical morphology.
Syntax
A set of rules that govern how words are combined to form phrases and sentences.
Morphology
(countable) The form and structure of something.
Syntax
The formal rules of formulating the statements of a computer language.
Morphology
(countable) A description of the form and structure of something.
Syntax
(linguistics) The study of the structure of phrases, sentences, and language.
Morphology
That branch of biology which deals with the structure of animals and plants, treating of the forms of organs and describing their varieties, homologies, and metamorphoses. See Tectology, and Promorphology.
Syntax
Connected system or order; union of things; a number of things jointed together; organism.
They owe no other dependence to the first than what is common to the whole syntax of beings.
Morphology
The form and structure of an organism.
Syntax
That part of grammar which treats of the construction of sentences; the due arrangement of words in sentences in their necessary relations, according to established usage in any language.
Morphology
The branch of linguistics which studies the patterns by which words are formed from other words, including inflection, compounding, and derivation.
Syntax
The grammatical arrangement of words in sentences
Morphology
The study of the patterns of inflection of words or word classes in any given language; the study of the patterns in which morphemes combine to form words, and the rules for combination; morphemics; as, the morphology of Spanish verbs; also, the inflection patterns themselves.
Syntax
A systematic orderly arrangement
Morphology
The branch of biology that deals with the structure of animals and plants
Syntax
Studies of the rules for forming admissible sentences
Morphology
Studies of the rules for forming admissible words
Morphology
The admissible arrangement of sounds in words
Morphology
The branch of geology that studies the characteristics and configuration and evolution of rocks and land forms
Morphology
Analysis of the patterns of word formation within a language.
Morphology explains how friendship is derived from friend.
Morphology
The aspect of grammar that deals with word formation.
Morphology explores the distinction between read (present) and read (past).
Common Curiosities
Why is word order important in syntax?
Word order determines sentence meaning and grammaticality in many languages.
What does morphology study?
Morphology studies the structure and formation of words.
Can you give an example of a morpheme?
Yes, "un-" in "undo" is a morpheme, signifying negation.
What is the main concern of syntax?
Syntax focuses on how words combine to form sentences.
How does morphology help in understanding language evolution?
Morphology traces word formations, revealing language shifts and derivations.
What's a compound word in morphology?
A compound word combines two or more words, like "toothbrush."
Are syntax rules the same in all English dialects?
While largely similar, there can be subtle syntactical variations among English dialects.
What's an affix in morphology?
An affix is an added element to a word, like prefixes or suffixes.
How does punctuation relate to syntax?
Punctuation aids in clarifying syntactic relationships in written language.
How does syntax differ across languages?
Different languages have different word orders and sentence structures, like Subject-Verb-Object in English vs. Subject-Object-Verb in Japanese.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
