The adverbial suffix -ly [1] and the adjectival suffix -ly [2] typically do not combine (e.g., * ghost+-ly [1]+ -ly [2] 'in a ghostlike manner'). However, phonologically similar strings are attested when one /li/ string is part of the word stem ( jollily , compared to: ?s mellily , * lovelily ). Does morphological structure modulate the acceptability of these words independently from the impact of phonological or usage-based constraints? In two experiments, jolly -type stems are rated more acceptable than smell - and love -type stems, which did not significantly differ from each other. A combination of phonological constraints and increased morphological complexity can account for the observed pattern.
