Gender is a distinction that shows whether a noun or pronoun is male or female. It is related to the sex of living beings. Read the following passage and say what gender the underlined words refer to.
All the teachers were invited to the party. Their spouses and children were also invited. But Mr. Rahman could not attend the party, because his wife was ill. As his son and daughter were away from home, there was nobody else in the house to look after her.
There are four genders in English. They are:
- Masculine gender
- Feminine gender
- Common gender
- Neuter gender
Activity 1: Now fill in the gaps in the following sentences to understand what each gender denotes.
The masculine gender denotes a — person or animal.
The feminine gender refers to a--person or animal.
The common gender refers to both — and------persons/animals.
The neuter gender denotes a thing which is neither-— nor-.
Activity 2: Here are some nouns. Say what gender they denote.
man host | woman hostess | student guest | camera pillow |
Activity 3: Read the following masculine nouns and match them with their feminine forms.
Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|
actor | COW |
count | hen |
duke | bitch |
priest | duck |
salesman | mare |
bull/ox | lady |
cock | hind |
dog | vixen |
drake | niece |
horse | actress |
lord | countess |
stag | duchess |
fox | priestess |
nephew | saleswoman |
Activity 4: Genders also refer to pronouns. Correct the mistakes of pronouns in the following passage:
My father is a poet. She has written a lot of poems. Her poems are very good to read. My mother, however, does not read these poems. He is always busy doing his own work. His indifference to her poetry is painful.