English Grammar Class #08

Hello, Dear Friends!


In our class today we are going to discuss about: The Gender Of a Noun.


There are four kinds of a Gender Noun.


(I) Masculine Gender
(II) Feminine Gender
(III) Common Gender and
(IV) Neuter Gender.


Basically, there are only two kinds of a Gender Noun, Masculine and Feminine Gender. The modern teachers of the English language suggest that there are actually four kinds of a Gender Noun including Common and Neuter Gender.


First, let's discuss about Masculine and Feminine Genders of a Noun.


(I) Masculine Gender-------------- A Noun that mentions a male animal or person is said to be of the Masculine Gender.


(II) Feminine Gender-------------- A Noun that denotes a female animal or person is said to be of the Feminine Gender.


The next thing that we need to know comprehensively is how to change a Masculine Gender Noun into a Feminine Gender Noun.


Followings are some rules that help in forming Masculine Gender Nouns into Feminine Gender Nouns. Let's consider them thoroughly.


-1st Rule:- By adding (-ess) in the end of a Masculine Gender to form a Feminine Gender. For example:


-Author -------------- Authoress
-Baron ------------ Baroness
-Giant -------------- Giantess
-Heir ---------------Heiress
-Poet ------------- Poetess
-Actor --------------- Actress


-Adding (-ess) in the end of a Masculine Gender to form a Feminine Gender is the most common one.


-2nd Rule:- By adding (-ine, -trix, -a, and -en) in the end of a Masculine Gender to form a Feminine Gender. For example:


-Hero ------------ Heroine
-Testator -----------Testatrix
-Czar ----------- Czarina
-Signor ---------- Signora
-Sultan ------------ Sultana
-Fox --------------- Vixen


-3rd Rule:- By adding a word before a Masculine Gender to form a Feminine Gender. For example:


-Grandfather ------------- Grandmother
-Manservant -------------- Maidservant
-Landlord ------------------ Landlady
-Milkman ---------------- Milk-woman
-Peacock ----------------- Peahen


-4th Rule:- By using entirely a different word. For example:


-Boy ------------- Girl
-Papa ------------ Mama
-Brother ----------- Sister
-Husband ------------ Wife
-Horse ------------ Mare
-Nephew ------------ Niece
-Drake ------------- Duck
-Earl ---------------- Countess
-Sir ------------------- Madam.


-We had been talking about Masculine and Feminine Genders of a Noun so far. Let's move on to talk about Common and Neuter Genders also.


(III) Common Gender ----------------A Noun that mentions a thing that is either a male or a female is said to be of the Common Gender. It means it is applied to both male or a female. For example: Parent, Child, Friend, Thief, cousin etc. Nothing is added with them to form a female gender because they can be applied to both male and a female.


(IV) Neuter Gender -------------------A Noun that mentions a thing that is neither male nor a female (i.e. a thing without life) is said to be of the Neuter Gender. It means, like Common Genders they cannot be changed into Feminine or Masculine Genders. For example: Book, pen, table, chair etc.


We hope that today's class provided you with a valuable tutorial about the Gender Of a Noun.
If you have any questions about the tutorial, please feel free to contact us in our inbox of our Facebook page English Speaking Cub .



Best of luck.