What are inflectional endings used for in language?

Inflectional endings are used specifically to modify a word in a grammatical context without changing its core meaning. They serve a critical function in languages, particularly in English, by indicating various grammatical features such as tense, number, possession, and comparison. For example, adding the inflectional ending "-s" can indicate a plural noun, as in "cat" changing to "cats." Similarly, the addition of "-ed" signals past tense for verbs, such as "walk" becoming "walked."

This utility of inflectional endings is crucial for the clarity and precision of language, allowing speakers and writers to convey timing, quantity, and relationships effectively. In contrast, the other options refer to different linguistic processes that do not accurately describe the role of inflectional endings. Changing the meaning of a word pertains more to derivational morphemes, while forming compound words involves combining whole words, and creating homophones pertains to words that sound the same but have different meanings. These functions fall outside the scope of what inflectional endings accomplish.