Question

Consider the word unlockable in the following contexts: I. The emergency latch is unlockable from the inside with a single movement. II. After the mechanism broke, the cabinet became unlockable: the door could no longer be secured. The difference in meaning can be represented through alternative hierarchical structures of the same sequence of morphemes. Which analysis corresponds to the two contexts?

Accepted Answer

D) I: [[un-lock]-able], "capable of being unlocked"; II: [un-[lock-able]], "not capable of being locked."

Answer

A) I: [unlock-[able]], where able functions as a free lexical base; II: [un-[lockable]], where lockable undergoes inflectional negation.

Answer

B) I: [un-[lock-able]], "capable of being unlocked"; II: [[un-lock]-able], "not capable of being locked."

Answer

C) I: [[un-lockable]], where un- reverses an adjectival meaning; II: [[unlock-able]], where -able negates the verbal base.

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