Question

The change from 'sing' to 'sang' to 'sung' is an example of what kind of inflection?

• A. A. Regular past tense inflection
• B. B. Internal change (irregular verb inflection)
• C. C. Adjective superlative inflection
• D. D. Noun plural inflection

Answer 1

Answer:

B. B. Internal change (irregular verb inflection)

Understanding Inflection

• Inflection is a process of word formation in which a word is modified to express different grammatical categories such as tense, mood, aspect, person, number, gender, case, and animacy.
• It involves adding suffixes (or sometimes prefixes or internal changes) to a base word without changing its fundamental meaning or part of speech.
• For example, adding -s to 'cat' to form 'cats' (plural) or -ed to 'walk' to form 'walked' (past tense) are common forms of inflection.

Internal Change (Apophony / Ablaut)

• The change from 'sing' to 'sang' to 'sung' is a classic example of internal change, also known as Apophony or Ablaut.
• This type of inflection involves a modification within the word's base (usually a vowel change) rather than adding a prefix or suffix.
• It is a prominent feature in Germanic languages, including English, tracing back to Proto-Indo-European roots.
• In English, apophony is primarily seen in the conjugation of strong verbs (irregular verbs) to indicate tense (past simple) and past participle forms.
• The vowel change signifies a grammatical distinction (e.g., present, past, past participle) without any additional morpheme attached to the root.

Irregular Verbs and Internal Change

• Verbs that undergo internal change are classified as irregular verbs (or strong verbs). They do not follow the regular pattern of adding -ed for the past tense and past participle.
• The term 'irregular' stems from the fact that their past tense and past participle forms are not predictable by a simple rule, often requiring memorization.
• Many common English verbs are irregular (e.g., 'go-went-gone', 'see-saw-seen', 'drink-drank-drunk', 'drive-drove-driven').
• Understanding irregular verbs is crucial for competitive exams as they frequently appear in questions testing grammar, sentence correction, and verbal ability.

Other Inflection Types (for competitive exam context)

• Suffixation: The most common type of inflection in English, involving adding suffixes (e.g., 'walk-ed', 'cat-s', 'tall-er').
• Suppletion: An extreme form of irregularity where the inflected forms are derived from completely different roots (e.g., 'good-better-best', 'go-went-gone', 'be-am-is-was-were'). While 'go-went-gone' also shows internal change in 'went' (from an older root), the jump from 'go' to 'went' is often cited as suppletion due to the radical change.
• Zero Inflection: When a word's form does not change for different grammatical categories (e.g., 'sheep' singular and plural, 'cut' for present and past tense).