It should here be noted that paradigmatic inflections are used for two distinct purposes, qualification and relation. A word is qualified by inflection when the idea expressed by the inflection pertains to the idea expressed by the word inflected; thus a noun is qualified by inflection when its number and gender are expressed. A word is related by inflection when the office of the word in the sentence is pointed out thereby; thus, nouns are related by case inflections; verbs are related by inflections for gender, number, and person. All inflection for agreement is inflection for relation.
In English, three of the grammatic processes are highly specialized.
Combination is used chiefly for derivation, but to some slight extent for qualification and relation in the paradigmatic categories. But its use in this manner as compared with many other languages has almost disappeared.
Vocalic mutation is used to a very limited extent and only by accident, and can scarcely be said to belong to the English language.
Intonation is used as a grammatic process only to a limited extent—simply to assist in forming the interrogative and imperative modes. Its use here is almost rhetorical; in all other cases it is purely rhetorical.
Placement is largely used in the language, and is highly specialized, performing the office of exhibiting the relations of words to each other in the sentence; i.e., it is used chiefly for syntactic relation.
Thus one of the four processes does not belong to the English language; the others are highly specialized.
The purposes for which the processes are used are derivation, modification, and syntactic relation.
Derivation is accomplished by combination.
Modification is accomplished by the differentiation of adjectives and adverbs, as words, phrases, and clauses.