Nouns : Gender
Generally speaking, there is no distinction between masculine and feminine when it comes to nouns in English.
However, gender is sometimes shown by different forms or different words when referring to some people or animals people or animals.
Masculine | Feminine | Gender neutral |
---|---|---|
man | woman | person |
father | mother | parent |
boy | girl | child |
uncle | aunt | |
husband | wife | spouse |
actor | actress | actor |
prince | princess | |
king | queen | monarch |
waiter | waitress | server |
cockerel | hen | chicken |
stallion | mare | horse |
bull | cow | cow |
buck | doe | rabbit or deer |
Many nouns that refer to people’s roles and jobs can be used for either a masculine or a feminine subject, like for example cousin, teenager, teacher, doctor, student, friend, colleague
- Helen is my colleague. She is a teacher.
- Phillip is doctor. He is my friend.
- Darren is my cousin. He is a student.
- Jenny is my cousin. She is a student.
Sometimes as a term of endearment non gender specific nouns are given gendered pronouns.
- Dad loves his old sport scar . He takes her (the car) for a spin every Saturday;
- Britain is popular with her (Britains’s) neighbours since the Brexit referendum.
- Cruised across the Atlantic in the QEII ; she (the QEII ) is a fabulous ship.