Noun genders

 

In English, we can notice four types of noun genders which are:

• masculine
• feminine
• common
• neuter

Masculine nouns

Masculine noun is a word used to denote a male of living organisms such like people and animals. This noun can be referred to using the suitable pronoun he, his, him, himself, it, its, or itself.

Example

 

Masculine nouns
People	Animals
Bridegroom King Actor Man Prince husband	Bull Rooster Fox Lion Ram Buck

• He is a famous actor.
• The lion that I sew in the jungle, itself, was chasing a deer.
• My fox, Felix, is sleeping on my bed. He is very beautiful.

Feminine nouns

Feminine noun is a word referring to a female of living organisms like people and animals. This noun is referred to using the suitable pronoun she, her, hers, herself, it, its, itself.

Example

Feminine nouns
People	Animals
Bride Queen Actress Women Princess Wife	Cow Hen Vixen Lioness Ewe Doe

• The bride was very happy on the day of her wedding.
• It is a wild vixen defending itself  to keep its life into the jungle.
• the queen in that country is fair as she believes on human rights.

Common-gender nouns

Common gender noun is a word naming a female or a male of living organisms (e.g. people and animals). It does not specify the gender. This noun is referred to using the suitable pronoun it , its, or itself.

Example

Common gender nouns

Parent does not specify the gender; it includes, for example, the following words: father, mother, son, sister etc. Chicken does not refer to specific common nouns. the word includes meanings like rooster, and hen. Spouse: the word also does not specify the gender. It means words like husband and wife.

• It is a petulant child.
• The person was very angry. It was looking for its car's key to attend a party.

Neuter nouns

Neuter noun is a word naming inanimate objects which don't have a gender. This word can be referred to using the suitable pronoun it, its, itself.

Example

Neuter nouns

Book Fire Mirror Computer Guitar Tree Note: all these words do not have a gender.

• It is an amazing guitar that my friend brought with him.
• It is an interesting book.

Exercises

1) Fill the blanks with the correct masculine or feminine nouns.

Noun genders
Masculine	Feminine
Lord	...............................
...............................	Countess
Nephew	...............................
...............................	Madame
Giant	...............................
...............................	Jewess
Hero	...............................
...............................	Spinster
Son	...............................
...............................	Sister

2) Write the following words under its correct heading.

• Drone- Bee- Gander- Goose- Children- Sun- File- Bitch- Monk- lamp- Dancer-Wizard- Witch- Father- Girl- Pen.

Masculine	Feminine	Common gender	Neuter

Answer key 

Exercise (1)

Lady, Earl, Niece, Sir, Giantess, Jew, Heroine, Bachelor, Daughter, Brother

Exercise (3)

Masculine: Drone-Gander-Monk-Wizard-Father

Feminine: Bee-Goose-Bitch-Witch-Girl

Common gender: Children-Dancer

Neuter: Sun-File-Lamp-Pen