Page 26 - Grammar Glow - 6

Common Gender

Study the following sentences carefully.

1. A true friend is rare in the world.

2. We respect our teachers a lot.

The words which are common to both males and females are of common gender.

Neuter Gender
Study the following sentences carefully.

1. The sofa is made of wood and cane.

2. This house belongs to my uncle.

In the above sentences, each word in colour denotes a non-living thing. These things are neither
males nor females. So each of these nouns is of neuter gender.

Change of Gender

Most of the masculine nouns have their feminines, too. These feminine words are formed in
different ways.

A. By adding ess

Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine

god goddess poet poetess

giant giantess priest priestess

host hostess prince princess

lion lioness shepherd shepherdess

B. By adding ess after removing the vowel in the last syllable

Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine

actor actress mister mistress

hunter huntress tiger tigress

C. Gender of pronouns

Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine

he she his her, hers

him her himself herself

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