Gender

Gender is a category of noun. There are four types of Genders.

Masculine Gender: The names of all male persons or animals are said to be of the Masculine Gender.

Example:  man, actor, uncle, hero, king, lion etc.

Feminine Gender: The names of all female persons or animals are said to be of the Feminine Gender.

Example: woman, aunt, daughter, actress, queen, lioness etc.

Neuter Gender: Things without life cannot be distinguished either as male or female; hence the names of such things are said to be of the Neuter Gender. Example: house, knife, tree, chair, table, book, ball etc.

Common Gender: Names that can be used for both males and females are said to be of the Common Gender.

Example: child, parent, student etc.

Methods to distinguish the Feminine Noun from the Masculine Noun;

        1.   By making change in the last part of the word.

        2.   By adding a word after or before.

        3.   By changing the word.

By making change in the last part of the word

Some Feminine are formed by simply adding –ess to the Masculine.

Sometimes the form is slightly changed before –ess is added.

Note – Also note how the following Feminines are formed:

By adding a word after or before

The Feminine of a Compound Noun is formed by changing that part which shows the gender.

By changing the word

Many Nouns have different words for the Masculine and the Feminine.

Common Gender

Example:

Neuter Gender

Example:

When a Noun changes from Masculine to Feminine, the Pronoun in the sentence must change too.

Example:

Note:

        1.   Though Collective Nouns refer to living-beings but are used as Neuter-Noun. For Example: The army is called to tackle the situation.

        2.   Objects known for their power, strength, and violence are used as Masculine Gender Noun. For Example: The death is cruel. He is as certain as tomorrow.

        3.   Objects known for their beauty, gentleness and grace are used as Feminine-Gender Noun. For Example: The earth is a unique planet. Her beauty is adorable.