THE GENDER OF NOUNS IN ENGLISH

MASCULINE AND FEMININE NOUNS

Masculine nouns are words for men and boys, and male animals. Feminine nouns are words for women and girls, and female animals.

Masculine - Feminine

boy - girl

man - woman

prince - princess

steward - stewardess

waiter – waitress

bride – bridegroom

rooster – hen

lion – lioness

king -  queen

mother – father

great-grandfather – great-grandmother

grandfather – grandmother

son –daughter

brother – sister

husband – wife

uncle – aunt

Here are some more masculine and feminine nouns for people. Here are some more masculine and feminine nouns for people.

Masculine – Feminine

actor - actress

brother - sister

emperor - empress

father - mother

gentleman - lady

grandfather - grandmother

grandson - granddaughter

headmaster - headmistress

man - woman

master - mistress

nephew - niece

prince - princess

son - daughter

steward - stewardess

uncle - aunt

wizard – witch

Note: Masculine nouns belong to the masculine gender. Feminine nouns belong to the feminine gender.

Here are some masculine and feminine nouns for male and female animals.

Animal – Male – Female

chicken - rooster - hen

cattle - bull - cow

deer - buck - doe

donkey - jack - jenny

duck - drake - duck

fox - fox - vixen

goose - gander - goose

horse - stallion - mare

lion - lion - lioness

sheep - ram - ewe

tiger - tiger – tigress

NOTE:

Nouns that end in -ess and -ress often belong to the feminine gender. For example:

actress - stewardess

lioness - tigress

princess - waitress

Many nouns are used for both males and females. Nouns like these are used for both males and females:

accountants

parents

artists

managers

designers

pupils

engineers

singers

lawyers

teachers

doctors

scientist

hairdressers

dancers

NOTE:

We call these nouns common-gender nouns. Words for things that are neither male nor female are called neuter nouns.

Here are some neuter nouns:

ball

forest

building

gymnasium

broom

playground

cake

rock

computer

sky

card

socks

floor

wind

leaves

bench

mirror

fire

waterfall


Post a Comment

0 Comments