Basic Details
Word: Inflected
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Changed in form to show tense, number or another grammatical feature, as walk becomes walked; also, of a voice, rising and falling in tone.
Synonyms: modulated
Sounds like: inflicted (caused something painful or unpleasant to happen to someone)
How to Spell Inflected
Syllables: in - flect - ed
Tricky part: The vowel after fl is e, not i: inflicted is a different word. The end is ct and then ed, with a single t.
Watch out for: inflekted, inflectted, enflected
Memory tip: Inflected and reflect are built on the same base, flect, which means bend. An inflected word bends its ending; a mirror reflects, or bends back, light.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Goes and going are inflected forms of go.
Example 2: Her voice was gently inflected as she read the poem aloud.
Example 3: Mice is an inflected form of mouse, even though it looks very different.
Fun Fact
Sanskrit is a highly inflected language: a single noun can take up to 24 different forms to show its job in a sentence and whether it means one, two or many.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. inflected 2. vocabulery 3. pronounciation 4. sylable
a) changed in form to show tense, number or case
b) the way a word is said
c) a unit of sound in a word
d) all the words a person knows or uses
Show answer
a) changed in form to show tense, number or case. Inflected is correct; pronunciation has no o after the n, vocabulary ends in ary and syllable doubles the l.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
Add ed to walk and you get the tfedcilen form walked.
a) inflicted
b) infected
c) inflected
d) deflected
Show answer
c) inflected. Inflicted needs two i's, infected has no l and deflected has no n; these letters make only inflected.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
inflectted
a) t
b) c
c) d
d) e
Show answer
a) t. Flect has one t, and ed simply follows it.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A voice that is inflected ____.
a) rises and falls in tone
b) cannot be heard
c) has been recorded
d) is very loud
Show answer
a) rises and falls in tone
2. Which word is NOT an inflected form of go?
a) goes
b) going
c) goal
d) went
Show answer
c) goal
