What term means a group of letters that can stand alone and has meaning?

• A. Root
• B. Prefix
• C. Base Word
• D. Noun Phrase

Answer: (C)

This question is testing the idea of a base word—the form of a word that can stand on its own and still carry meaning. A base word is a complete word you can use by itself, and you can also add prefixes or suffixes to create new related forms. For example, talk is a base word: it can stand alone as "talk," and you can attach -er to make "talker," -ing to make "talking," or -ed to make "talked."

A prefix, by contrast, can’t stand alone because it’s a binded morpheme that must attach to a base word. A noun phrase is a group of words, not a single word. A root is the minimal morpheme that carries core meaning, but it often isn’t a standalone word in English. Since the prompt describes a unit that can stand alone and has meaning, the best fit is the base word.