What is the function of a free morpheme?

A free morpheme is a type of morpheme that can stand alone as an independent word and retain its meaning. This means that free morphemes do not need to be attached to other morphemes to convey a complete thought or concept. For example, words like "book," "cat," and "run" are all free morphemes because they can exist on their own without any additional prefixes or suffixes.

The other options describe different linguistic concepts. The first choice suggests a function more aligned with bound morphemes, which modify meanings when attached to root words. The third option refers to phonemes rather than morphemes, as phonemes are the smallest units of sound in a language. Lastly, the fourth choice pertains to the roles that bound morphemes serve; they are indeed responsible for forming prefixes and suffixes but do not serve the same function as free morphemes. Thus, the essence of a free morpheme is its ability to function independently as a word.