Definition & Meaning of "inflection"

What is "inflection"?

Inflection is a morphological process that modifies a word to express different grammatical categories such as tense, number, mood, or case, without changing its core meaning or part of speech. This is typically achieved by adding endings or changing the form of the word. For example, the verb "walk" can be inflected to "walks" for third person singular present tense or "walked" for past tense. Similarly, nouns can change from "cat" to "cats" to indicate plural form. Inflection helps convey specific grammatical information and relationships within sentences, enhancing the clarity and accuracy of communication.