Gender in Grammar

Read the following pairs of words:



What did you notice?

• The first word of each pair is the name of a male animal.  
  
• The second word of each pair is the name of a female animal.  
  

Types of Gender 

There are four types of gender in English. They are:

• Masculine Gender
• Feminine Gender
• Common Gender &
• Neuter Gender.

Masculine Gender 

The names of male animals are masculine gender. Both nouns and pronouns have masculine forms. The bold words in the following sentences are the examples of masculine gender.

• My brother is busy. He is doing his homework. 

Feminine Gender 

The names of male animals are masculine gender. Both nouns and pronouns have feminine forms. The bold words in the following sentences are the examples of feminine gender.

• My sister is busy. She is doing her homework. 

Note that pronouns he, him, and his indicate masculine gender. 

Common Gender 

Some names stand for both male and female. They are called common gender.  

Neuter Gender 

Lifeless things are not male or female. They are called neuter gender. 

[Neuter means neither, that is, neither male nor female]

There are three ways of forming the Feminine Gender of Nouns:

(1) By placing a word before or after; as,

(2) By adding a syllable (-ess, -ine, -trix, -a, etc) as,

[Note that in the following -ess is added after dropping the vowel of the masculine ending]

Note:- The suffix -ess is the commonest suffix used to form feminine nouns, from the masculine, and is the only one which we now use in forming a new feminine noun.

(3) By using an entirely different word; as

Personification

Objects without life are often personified. We then regard them as males or females. 

Objects with strength and violence is Masculine Gender.

The sun sheds his beams on rich and poor alike.

Objects with beauty and gentleness is Masculine Gender.

The moon has hidden her face behind a cloud.

Spring has spread her mantle of green over the earth.

Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war.

This use is most common in poetry, but certain nouns are personified in prose too. A ship is often spoken of as she; as,

The ship lost her boats in the storm.

Test Your Learning

Print the worksheet and test your learning. 

1. Fill in the gaps with appropriate gender from the brackets.

(a) The ---------- (bull/ cow) gives us milk.

(b) Shahjahan was an ---------- (emperor/ empress). 

(c) Krishna Chandra was a ---------- (king/ queen) of Bangla.

(d) The man has many lands. He is a ---------- (landlord/ landlady).

(e) Her ---------- (husband/ wife) is a pilot.

(f) Zafar Iqbal is a famous ---------- (author/authoress).

(g) The name of his ---------- (master/mistress) is Steve Jobs.

(h) Sultana Rajia is an ---------- (emperor/emperess).

(i) Victoria was the ---------- (king/ queen) of England.

(j) Our English ---------- (sir/madam). Mr. Imran Hossain is very fond of us.

2. Fill in the gaps with appropriate gender from the brackets.

(a)  Ms. Das was the ---------- (chairman/ chairperson) of the meeting.

(b) Kate Winslet is a good ---------- (actor/ actress).

(c) The daughter of a king is called a ---------- (prince/ princess).

(d) Elizabeth is my ---------- (brother/ sister).

(e) Leonardo was a famous ---------- (actor/ actress).

(f) The ---------- (cock/hen) has four chickens.

(g) The ---------- (dog/ bitch) gives birth many puppies.

(i) (Prince/Princess) ---------- Diana died in an accident.

(i) (Men/Women) ---------- in our country mainly stay at home.

(j) Our ---------- (headmaster/ headmistress) is a kind woman.

3. Fill in the gaps with appropriate gender from the brackets.

(a) The man’s wife has died. He is a ---------- (widow/ widower).

(b) Sindbad was a great ---------- (hero/ heroine).

(c) Linda is my ---------- (nephew/ niece).

(d) He milks his ---------- (bull/ cow) every day.

(e) Amlan is a ---------- (bachelor/ maid).

(f) Chandraboti was a ---------- (poet/ poetess) of Bangla Literature.

(g) Lisa is a ---------- (host/ hostess) in Emirates Airlines.

(h) Rikta is a ---------- (bachelor/ maid).

(i) Runa is the ---------- (heir/heiress) of her father.

(j) The ---------- (pea-cock/pea-hen) has feathers.

4. Fill in the gaps with appropriate gender from the brackets.

(a) The ---------- (bride/ bridegroom) wears a beautiful dress.

(b) The ---------- (lion/ lioness) does not have mane.

(c) Tagore was a great ---------- (poet/ poetess).

(d)The ---------- (tiger/ tigress) gave birth two cubs.

(e) Sofia works as a ---------- (man-servant/ maid-servant) in a rich man’s house.

(f) His ---------- (step brother/ step sister) Sumona is a teacher.

(g) The ---------- (gander/goose) has laid an egg.

(h) The name of my ---------- (brother-in-law/ sister-in-law) is Ricky Ponting.

(i) Susan is a ---------- (monk/nun).

(j) There is only one ---------- (drone/bee) in a bee-hive.

Here is a set of questions of gender to test your learning online. Login to take the test and see your result.