Gender | English Grammar

Updated on 01/04/26 by Er. Mananjay Mahato
  • Gender is a system of noun classification that reflects the sex or lack of sex of a person, animal, or object.
  • 1. Types of Gender : 4 
    • Masculine Gender (पुल्लिंग)
      • Nouns that denote male persons or animals.
      • Examples: Boy, Father, Hero, Bull, King, Actor, Tiger.
    • Feminine Gender (स्त्रीलिंग)
      • Nouns that denote female persons or animals.
      • Examples: Girl, Mother, Heroine, Cow, Queen, Actress, Tigress.
    • Common Gender (उभयलिंग)
      • Nouns that can be used for both males and females. These do not specify a fixed sex.
      • Examples: Student, Teacher, Doctor, Child, Parent, Servant, Candidate, Friend.
    • Neuter Gender (नपुंसक लिंग)
      • Nouns that denote non-living things, objects without life, or very small creatures where sex is not distinguished.
      • Examples: Pen, Chair, Table, Book, Tree, Ant, Fly.

Rules for Changing Masculine to Feminine

  • Rule 1: By using an entirely different word
Masculine Feminine
Bachelor Spinster/Maid
Brother Sister
Monk Nun
Nephew Niece
Wizard Witch
  • Rule 2: By adding a suffix “-ess”
    • Direct addition:
      • Author → Authoress
      • Host → Hostess.
    • After dropping the last vowel:
      • Actor → Actress,
      • Tiger → Tigress
      • Waiter → Waitress.
  • Rule 3: By changing a word in Compound Nouns
Masculine Feminine
Grandfather Grandmother
Milkman Milkmaid
Peacock Peahen
Landlord Landlady
Step-son Step-daughter
  • A. Personification
    • कभी-कभी, निर्जीव वस्तुओं के साथ सजीव प्राणियों जैसा व्यवहार किया जाता है (मानवीकरण)।
    • Masculine (Strength/Violence): The Sun, Summer, Winter, Time, Death, War.
      • Example: Death lays his icy hands on kings.
    • Feminine (Beauty/Grace/Peace): The Moon, Earth, Spring, Nature, Mercy, Hope, Charity, Justice.
      • Example: The Moon has hidden her face.
  • B. Collective Nouns
    • समूहवाचक संज्ञाएँ (Collective nouns) , भले ही वे जीवित प्राणियों का उल्लेख करती हों, आमतौर पर नपुंसक लिंग (Neuter Gender) मानी जाती हैं।
    • Example: The army is moving towards its destination. (Not his or her).
  • C. Lower Animals & Infants
    • Small animals, insects, and infants are often treated as Neuter Gender unless we want to emphasize their sex.
    • Example: The child is crying for its toy.
  • D. Pronoun Usage for Common Gender
    • When a common gender noun (like Doctor or Teacher) is used in a singular sense and the sex is not specified, traditional grammar uses the Masculine pronoun (he/his/him) as a generic form.
    • Example: Every student should bring his own pen.
Gender | English Grammar