Here's why:
* Morphemes: The smallest units of meaning in a language. They can be individual words (like "cat") or parts of words (like "un-" in "unhappy").
* Portable: Means that they can be moved around and used in different combinations.
* Meaning: Morphemes carry individual meanings that contribute to the overall meaning of a word.
Example:
The word "unhappy" is made up of two morphemes:
* "un-" - This is a prefix morpheme meaning "not".
* "happy" - This is a free morpheme, a word that can stand alone.
By combining these morphemes, we create the word "unhappy", which has a different meaning than either "un-" or "happy" alone.
In summary, morphemes are the portable building blocks of meaning in words.