Gender has the same relation to nouns that sex has to individuals, but while there are only two sexes, there are four genders:
masculine - the masculine gender denotes all those of the male kind
feminine - the feminine gender all those of the female kind
neuter - the neuter gender denotes inanimate things or whatever is without life
common - common gender is applied to animate beings, the sex of which for the time being is indeterminable, such as fish, mouse, bird, etc
There is no gender in the English noun. Grammatical gender became extinct in English during the Middle English period. In those languages that still have it, grammatical gender is a formal classification of words that has no necessary connection to their meaning. Indo-European languages have a maximum of three genders, misleadingly called feminine, masculine and neuter. Other languages may have more; there are as many as eight in Japanese, where different objects are counted differently, according to category.
The way grammatical gender works is this:
Let's take the French word sentinelle which means a sentry, a soldier on guard duty. Sentinelle is a feminine noun, taking the feminine article la and the feminine pronoun elle. All adjectives modifying it must also be in their feminine form, if they have one. Voici la sentinelle. Elle vous demandera le mot de passe translates to "This is the sentry. He'll ask you for the password." Elle normally means "she" when referring to a person, but where the antecedent is a feminine noun referring to a male human being, it can mean "he."
Does it seem confusing? Not if you are used to it. But be grateful that there is no grammatical gender in English.
The genders for nouns are:
Pluralization for nouns are:
Example sentences for gender specific nouns:
English uses gender specific nouns for male, female, common gender (words that can be a male or a female), and neuter nouns (words for things that have no gender). Some examples are:
Male gender: father, uncle, boy, king, bull, ram, gander, rooster, etc.
Female gender: sister, grandma, niece, princess, cow, ewe, doe, hen, etc.
Common gender: parent, neighbor, lawyer, artist, cattle, sheep, deer, chicken, etc.
Neuter gender: house, jewelry, law, hope, hamburger, shoe, etc.
Gender nouns are words specifically for a male or female person or animal; common gender nouns that are words for either a male or a female; and neutral nouns for things that are non-living things. Examples:
In English there are no masculine or feminine forms, but English does use gender specific nouns for male or female, common gender nouns for words that can be male or female, and neuter nouns for words that have no gender.
Some examples are:
Male specific nouns: father, brother, uncle, king, rooster, stallion, buck, bull.
Female specific nouns: grandma, sister, niece, queen, hen, mare, doe, cow.
common gender nouns: teacher, parent, friend, neighbor, manager, horse.
Neuter nouns: school, lunch, street, electricity, ocean, city, triangle, moon.
Many languages have formal grammatical gender indications in their word suffixes, particularly of nouns and sometimes verbs, too. Such gender specific languages range from the Semitic ones, Hebrew and Arabic, to the romance languages of Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, and Romanian.
The word 'noun' has no gender; 'noun' is a neuter noun.
The 4 genders of nouns are masculine,feminine,neuter,and common gender.
Yes, the noun 'lord' is a gender specific noun for a male.
In English the noun 'florist' is a gender-neutral occupational noun (a common gender noun).
The noun rhino (or rhinoceros) is a common gender noun, a word for either a male or a female.The gender noun for a male rhino is a bull; the gender noun for a female rhino is a cow.
The plural noun 'plants' is a neuter gender noun, a word for something that has no gender. Although some specific plants do have a gender, the noun 'plants' is a general term for any plants.
The noun 'director' is a common gender noun, a word for a male or a female.
The noun postmistress is a gender specific noun for a female. The noun postmaster is a gender specific noun for a male.
There is no opposite gender for the noun 'misdeed'. The noun misdeed is a neuter noun, a word with no gender.
The plural noun 'priests' is a gender noun for males; the plural gender noun for females is priestesses.
The noun 'duke' is a gender specific noun for a male.The corresponding gender specific noun for a female is duchess.Duchess
The gender specific noun for a male is count.The corresponding gender specific noun for a female is countess.The gender specific noun for a male is earl.There is no corresponding gender specific noun for a female.
Yes, the noun 'lord' is a gender specific noun for a male.
There is no opposite gender noun for the noun delegate.The noun 'delegate' is a common gender noun, a word for a male or a female.
In English the noun 'florist' is a gender-neutral occupational noun (a common gender noun).
The noun 'patroness' is a gender specific noun for a female.There is no gender specific noun for a male.The noun patron is a common gender noun, a word for a male or a female.
The noun 'hostess' is a gender specific noun for a female.The corresponding gender specific noun for a male is host.The noun 'host' is also used as a common gender noun, a word for a male or a female.
The plural noun 'plants' is a neuter gender noun, a word for something that has no gender. Although some specific plants do have a gender, the noun 'plants' is a general term for any plants.
The noun rhino (or rhinoceros) is a common gender noun, a word for either a male or a female.The gender noun for a male rhino is a bull; the gender noun for a female rhino is a cow.