An exponent is a phonological manifestation of a morphosyntactic property. In non-technical language, it is the expression of one or more grammatical properties by sound. There are several kinds of exponents:

Identity

The identity exponent is both simple and common: it has no phonological manifestation at all. An example in English:

Affixation

Affixation is the addition of an affix (such as a prefix, suffix or infix) to a word. Example in English:

Reduplication

Reduplication is the repetition of part of a word. An example in Sanskrit:

Internal modification

There are several types of internal modification. An internal modification may be segmental, meaning it changes a sound in the root. An example in English: An internal modification might be a suprasegmental modification. An example would be a change in pitch or stress. An example of the latter in English (acute accent indicates stress):

Subtraction

Subtraction is the removal of a sound or a group of sounds. An example in French: