A Writer's Alphabet of Concepts and Clues

inflection
noun
1531
1. the act or result of curving or bending: BEND
2. the change in pitch or loudness of the voice
3 a: the change of form that words undergo to mark such distinctions as those of case, gender, number, tense, person, mood, or voice b: a form, suffix, or element involved in such variation c: ACCIDENCE
4 a: change in curvature of an arc or curve from concave to convex or conversely b: INFLECTION POINT

Inflection: "The changes of form that words undergo to mark such distinctions as those of case (the form that a noun or pronoun takes according to its grammatical role in a sentence (subjective, objective, or possessive)" (Perrin, The Beacon Handbook, 1987,655).

"Gender: nouns and pronouns are masculine, feminine, or neuter" (O'Hare and Kline, The Modern Writer's Handbook, 3rd edition, 155).

A Writer's Alphabet of Concepts and Clues

Grammar and its components

Last November I posted this regarding grammar: Accuracy of focus cannot be achieved without attention to grammatical detail, including appropriate inflection (the changes of form that words undergo to mark such distinctions as those of case, gender, number, tense, person, mood, or voice) and syntax (the way in which words are put together to form phrases, clauses, or sentences). This post and subsequent posts will cover these components in greater detail.

Ken Macrorie: "The good writer masters grammar in order to control his words, and meaning is his target." (Flachmann and Flachmann, The Prose Reader, 2nd edition, 342)

accidence: a part of grammar that deals with inflections