Lesson 4; Nouns: Gender
The difference in the type of a Noun that shows whether we are talking to a female or a male is denoted as Gender.
There are four types of Genders; the Masculine Gender, the Feminine Gender, the Common Gender and the Neuter Gender.
- Masculine Gender: Names of the males are of the Masculine Gender, such as man, hero, actor etc.
- Feminine Gender: Names of the females are of the Feminine Gender; such as woman, heroine, actress etc.
- Common Gender: Names that can be given either to a female or to a male are of the Common Gender; such as child, parent, student etc.
- Neuter Gender: Things with no life can’t be either female or male; so, names of those things are of the Neuter Gender; such as chair, table, book etc.
There are three different methods to distinguish the Feminine Noun from the Masculine Noun;
1) By a change of the word
2) By a change of the ending
3) By adding a word after or before.
- By a change of the word
Masculine – Feminine
Husband – Wife
Nephew – Niece
Brother – Sister
Cock – Hen
Wizard – Witch
Son – Daughter
King – Queen
Gentleman – Lady
Boy – Girl
Bull – Cow
- By a change of the ending
Masculine – Feminine
Author – Authoress
Lad – Lass
Hero – Heroine
Widow – Widower
Master – Mistress
God – Goddess
Duke – Duchess
Lion – Lioness
Shepherd – Shepherdess
Patron – Patroness
- By adding a word after or before
Masculine – Feminine
Land-lord – Land-lady
Grandpa – Grandma
Pea-cock – Pea-hen
Bride-groom – Bride
Man-servant – Maid-servant
He-goat – She-goat
Examples of Nouns in Common Gender
Singer – male or female
Parent – father or mother
Cat – male or female
Teacher – master or mistress
Deer – stag or hind
Bird- cock or hen
Cub – male or female
Fish – milter or spawner
Pupil – male or female
Servant – man or maid
Enemy (or friend) – male or female enemy (or friend)
Orphan – boy or girl whose parents are dead
Infant or baby – male or female infant or baby
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