grammatical conditioning

Grammatical conditioning refers to how the choice of a particular linguistic form depends on the grammatical context, rather than purely on sound patterns. This is distinct from phonological conditioning, where sound influences form. For example, in English, the plural morpheme (the unit of meaning for plurality) can be realized as "-s," "-es," or "-en" (as in "oxen"). The choice between these forms is often determined by the preceding sound or grammatical structure.1

In some instances, the selection of a particular form is not predictable by sound but by specific grammatical rules or conventions. This is known as grammatical conditioning. For instance, the choice of the past participle ending in English, like the "-n" in "shown" or "seen," is not based on the sound of the preceding word but is a matter of grammatical convention for that specific word. This concept is a part of morphology, the study of word structure.1