What is inflection?

Definition Inflection is variation in the form of a word, typically by means of an affix, that expresses a grammatical contrast which is obligatory for the stems word class in some given grammatical context. Discussion In contrast to derivation, inflection

does not result in a change of word class, and usually produces a predictable, nonidiosyncratic change of meaning.

Characteristics of inflectional operations Inflectional operations ground the semantic content of a root according to place, time, and participant reference, without substantially affecting the basic semantic content of the root. They often specify when an event or situation took place, who or what were the participants, and sometimes where, how or whether an event or situation really took place. In other words, roots can be inflected for such things as: Agreement: person, number, and gender Sequential, temporal or epistemological grounding: tense, aspect, mode Inflectional operations

are grammatically required in certain syntactic environments Example: The main verb of an English sentence must be inflected for subject and tense.

tend to be regular and productive, in comparison to derivational operations, and tend to occur in paradigms .

Example (English)

In the following English sentence, come is inflected for person and number by the suffix -s: The mailman comes about noon.

What is an inflectional affix?

Definition An inflectional affix is an affix that

expresses a grammatical contrast that is obligatory for its stem's word class in some given grammatical context does not change the word class of its stem is typically located farther from its root than a derivational affix, and produces a predictable, nonidiosyncratic change of meaning.

Examples (English) Here are some examples of grammatical categories that are expressed by inflectional affixes:

Aspect Case Modality Number Person Tense Voice

Definition Aspect Aspect is a grammatical category associated with verbs that expresses a temporal view of the event or state expressed by the verb. Discussion Aspect is often indicated by verbal affixes or auxiliary verbs. Example (English) He is talking.

The be + -ing construction expresses progressive aspect. Definition Imperfective aspect is an aspect that expresses an event or state, with respect to its internal structure, instead of expressing it as a simple whole. Examples (English)

Progressive aspect Example: Habitual aspect with Example:

be + -ing

used to

Definition Perfective aspect is an aspect that expresses a temporal view of an event or state as a simple whole, apart from the consideration of the internal structure of the time in which it occurs. Examples (English) He walked there. This type of construction expresses a temporal view of walk distinct from those expressed in the following constructions: He was walking there. He used to walk there. Definition Case is a grammatical category determined by the syntactic or semantic function of a noun or pronoun. Discussion The term case has traditionally been restricted to apply to only those languages which indicate certain functions by the inflection of

nouns pronouns, or noun phrase constituents, such as adjectives and numerals.

Definition Mood is one of a set of distinctive forms that are used to signal modality. Modality is a facet of illocutionary force, signaled by grammatical devices (that is, moods), that expresses

the illocutionary point or general intent of a speaker, or

a speakers degree of commitment to the expressed proposition's believability, obligatoriness, desirability, or reality.

Discussion The term mood is used by some authors in the same sense modality is. Others distinguish the two, as we do here, by using mood to refer to the contrastive grammatical expressions of different modalities and reserving modality to refer to the meanings so expressed. If, in addition, modality is used to refer to meanings expressed by lexical means as well as grammatical, it is effectively a synonym of illocutionary force. Example (English) Here are some examples of mood and modality; items that signal certain modalities:

Verbal inflections Auxiliary verbs

Definition Number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions (such as "one" or "more than one"). The count distinctions typically, but not always, correspond to the actual count of the referents of the marked noun or pronoun. Example (English) In the word girls, plural number is marked by the suffix -s. Definition Person deixis is deictic reference to the participant role of a referent, such as

the speaker the addressee, and referents which are neither speaker nor addressee.

Discussion Person deixis is commonly expressed by the following kinds of constituents:

Pronouns Possessive affixes of nouns Agreement affixes of verbs

Definition Tense is a grammatical category, typically marked on the verb, that deictically refers to

the time of the event or state denoted by the verb in relation to some other temporal reference point. Definition Voice is a grammatical category that expresses the semantic functions attributed to the referents of a clause. It indicates whether the subject is an

actor patient, or recipient. The following sentence is in active voice: Jones built the house. The following sentence is in passive voice: The house was built by Jones.

Examples (English)

What is derivation?
Definition Derivation is the formation of a new word or inflectable stem from another word or stem. It typically occurs by the addition of an affix. The derived word is often of a different word class from the original. It may thus take the inflectional affixes of the new word class. Discussion In contrast to inflection, derivation

is not obligatory typically produces a greater change of meaning from the original form, and is more likely to result in a form which has a somewhat idiosyncratic meaning. often changes the grammatical category of a root Kindness is derived from kind.

Examples (English)

Joyful is derived from joy. Amazement is derived from amaze. Speaker is derived from speak. National is derived from nation.

Characteristics Derivational operations

tend to be idiosyncratic and non-productive do not occur in well-defined 'paradigms,' and are 'optional' insofar as they o shape the basic semantic content of roots and
o

are not governed by some other syntactic operation or element.