Page 22 - Grammar Class 06

Nouns – Gender

A noun can be of a masculine , feminine , common or neuter gender .

G A noun that refers to a male is said to be of masculine gender .
Read the following examples:

boy, brother, husband, king, fox, wizard, bull

G A noun that refers to a female is said to be of feminine gender .
Read the following examples:
girl, sister, wife, queen, vixen, witch, cow

G A noun that refers both to a male and a
female is said to be of common gender . A collective noun is a collection
of living beings but collective
Read the following examples:
nouns are thought to be of
doctor, friend, student, teacher, player, baby
neuter gender.
G A noun that refers to a non-living thing is said E.g., A herd of cattle.

to be of neuter gender . Cattle is a living being but
Read the following examples: herd is a neuter gender.
stone, pen, cupboard, desk, hotel, gold, wood

A masculine gender is made feminine by following ways:

G Add -ess to the masculine.
Read the following examples:

1. host - hostess 2. priest - priestess
3. poet - poetess 4. lion - lioness

G Sometimes, the spelling of the words may be changed slightly before adding -ess .

Read the following examples:
1. master - mistress 2. God - Goddess
3. hunter - huntress 4. actor - actress

G By using an entirely different word.

Read the following examples:
1. drone - bee 2. nephew - niece
3. fox - vixen 4. bachelor - spinster

G Feminine of compound words is made as follows:
Read the following examples:
1. step-father – step-mother 2. man-servant – maid-servant
3. landlord – landlady 4. he-goat – she-goat

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Grammar-6