Grammar: Inflection

Posted February 14, 2023 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Grammar Explanations, Self-Editing, Writing

Inflection is the name for the extra letter or letters added to nouns, verbs, and adjectives in their different grammatical forms. Nouns are inflected in the plural, verbs are inflected in the various tenses, and adjectives are inflected in the comparative/superlative.

In the table below, you’ll find some of the most important inflection rules.

Grammar Explanations is . . .

. . . an evolving list of the structural rules and principles that determines where words are placed in phrases or sentences as well as how the language is spoken. Sometimes I run across an example that helps explain better or another “also known as”. Heck, there’s always a better way to explain it, so if it makes quicker and/or better sense, I would appreciate suggestions and comments from anyone on an area of grammar with which you struggle or on which you can contribute more understanding.

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Original Word Type Inflection Rule Examples
Words ending with a sibilant:
-s/-ss/-sh/-ch/x.
Add -es in the plural noun or 3rd person singular verb. bus → buses (n) / busses (v)
miss → misses
wish → wishes
watch → watches
fox → foxes
Words ending with the letter -o. potato → potatoes
do → does
Words ending in a consonant + -y. Change the -y to ie before the ending -s. party → parties
study → studies
cry → cries
Change the -y to i before the endings -ed/-er/-est/-ly. try → tried
happy → happier
easy → easiest
Do NOT change the -y before the ending -ing. carry → carrying
study → studying
try → trying
Words ending in a vowel + -y. Do NOT change the -y. buy → buys
play → played
Words ending with the letters -ie. Change the -ie to a -y before the ending -ing. die → dying
lie → lying
Verbs ending in a consonant + -e. Omit the -e before the ending -ing. ride → riding
love → loving
write → writing
provide → providing
One-syllable words ending consonant-vowel-consonant. Double the last consonant before the endings -ing/-ed/-er/-est. hit → hitting
stop → stopped
wet → wetter
fat → fattest
Two or more syllable words ending consonant-vowel-consonant that are stressed on the last syllable. begin → beginning
prefer → preferred
Two or more syllable words ending consonant-vowel-consonant that are stressed on the first syllable. Do NOT double the last consonant before the endings -ing/-ed/-er/-est. happen → happening
visit → visited

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

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Resources for Inflection

“Inflections.” Frankfurt International School. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/rules/inflections.htm>.

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