The English suffix er functions as a derivational morpheme

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SUPPORTED

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2 sources for · 0 against

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Is it true that the English suffix er functions as a derivational morpheme?

Yes. Linguistic research and morphological studies consistently classify the English suffix -er as a derivational morpheme used to form agentive and non-agentive nouns from verbs.

Verdict: SUPPORTED · 2 sources for, 0 against · Last checked 4 Aug 2026

The analysis

The claim is a standard linguistic fact that the suffix '-er' functions to derive new words (such as 'runner' or 'reader' from 'run' and 'read'), which is directly supported by morphological literature discussing deverbal nominalization.

Evidence for · 2

Morphology, language and the brain: the decompositional substrate for language comprehension.

2007

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WD, M. & LK, T. (2007). Morphology, language and the brain: the decompositional substrate for language comprehension.. doi.org. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2007.2091

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More for · 1

Non-agentive Deverbal <i>-er</i> Nominalization in English and Dutch

1998

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Heyvaert, L. (1998). Non-agentive Deverbal <i>-er</i> Nominalization in English and Dutch. doi.org. https://doi.org/10.1075/lic.1.2.07hey

Related receipts

Is it true that contractions in English consist of a fixed number of morphemes? REFUTED related question, same topic
Is it true that inflectional morphemes are considered affixes in English grammar? SUPPORTED related question, same topic

What does the evidence say?

Receipt History

first checked04 Aug 2026

judged → SUPPORTED · 8804 Aug 2026

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