Derivation Chains
📋 What it is
A derivation chain builds a word one morpheme at a time: nation → national → nationalize → nationalization. Each step adds a part and a new job.
🗣️ Coach says
Watch a word grow up. Start with a root, add a suffix, then another — the word changes its job at every link. Reading the chain shows you exactly how a giant word was assembled.
🧠 Memory hook
Root → +suffix → +suffix. Each link adds meaning AND changes the word's job.
😂 Giggle
Why did "graph" get a job at the newspaper?
It loves anything written!
😲 Whoa!
"Nationalization" is a four-link chain (nation → national → nationalize → nationalization) — 15 letters built from one 6-letter root.
✅ Quick check: Build a chain from "care": add -ful, then -ly. What two words do you get?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
careful (care + -ful), then carefully (careful + -ly) — each link adds a part and changes the job.
Building a chain link-by-link shows how suffixes stack to grow a word.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Grow "friend" as far as you can: friend → friendly → friendliness → …