What is Gender?
Gender in English grammar shows whether a noun or pronoun refers to a male, female, both, or non-living thing. It helps us understand who or what is being talked about.
Example:
- Boy – male
- Girl – female
- Table – non-living
There are four types of Gender in English grammar.
Masculine
Feminine
Common
Neuter
1. Masculine (पुल्लिंग)
Examples:
Man, Boy, Father, King, Lion
The boy is playing in the park.
Explanation: Boy शब्द एक पुरुष बच्चे को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।My father works in a bank.
Explanation: Father पुरुष माता-पिता को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।The king ruled the country wisely.
Explanation: King पुरुष शासक होता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।His brother lives in Delhi.
Explanation: Brother पुरुष भाई को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।The actor won an award.
Explanation: Actor पुरुष कलाकार को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।The uncle visited us yesterday.
Explanation: Uncle पुरुष रिश्तेदार होता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।The lion is the king of the jungle.
Explanation: Lion नर जानवर को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।That man is very honest.
Explanation: Man पुरुष मनुष्य को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।The prince is brave.
Explanation: Prince राजा का पुत्र होता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।The teacher praised the boy.
Explanation: Boy पुरुष लिंग को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।
2. Feminine (स्त्रीलिंग)
Feminine Gender refers to female persons or animal (स्त्रीलिंग) स्त्री जाति को दर्शाता है।
Examples:
Woman, Girl, Mother, Queen, Lioness
The girl is dancing.
Explanation: Girl स्त्री बच्चे को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह स्त्रीलिंग है।My mother is a teacher.
Explanation: Mother महिला माता को दर्शाता है।The queen is kind.
Explanation: Queen महिला शासक होती है।Her sister lives nearby.
Explanation:Sister महिला बहन को दर्शाता है।The actress won a prize.
Explanation: Actress महिला कलाकार को दर्शाता है।My aunt is visiting us.
Explanation: Aunt महिला रिश्तेदार होती है।The lioness is hunting.
Explanation: Lioness मादा जानवर को दर्शाता है।That woman is honest.
Explanation: Woman वयस्क महिला को दर्शाता है।The princess is brave.
Explanation: Princess राजकुमारी होती है।The nurse helped the patient.
Explanation:यहाँ Nurse महिला को दर्शाता है।
3. Common (उभयलिंग)
Common Gender refers to nouns that can be male or female.
Teacher, Student, Child, Doctor, Friend
The teacher is explaining the lesson.
Explanation: Teacher पुरुष या महिला दोनों हो सकते हैं।My friend is very helpful.
Explanation: Friend का कोई निश्चित लिंग नहीं होता।The student is preparing for exams.
Explanation: Student लड़का या लड़की हो सकता है।The doctor is on duty.
Explanation: Doctor पुरुष या महिला दोनों हो सकते हैं।The child is sleeping.
Explanation: Child लिंग नहीं बताता।The cousin lives abroad.
Explanation: Cousin दोनों लिंगों के लिए होता है।The neighbor helped us.
Explanation: Neighbor उभयलिंग है।The baby is crying.
Explanation: Baby लड़का या लड़की हो सकता है।The teacher scolded the student.
Explanation: दोनों शब्द उभयलिंग हैं।The player performed well.
Explanation: Player लिंग स्पष्ट नहीं करता।
4. Neuter (नपुंसकलिंग)
Neuter Gender refers to non-living things, objects, or ideas.
Examples:
Book, Table, Chair, Pen, Car
The book is on the table.
Explanation: Book वस्तु है, इसलिए नपुंसकलिंग है।The pen is blue.
Explanation: निर्जीव वस्तु है।This chair is broken.
Explanation: Chair निर्जीव है।The room is clean.
Explanation: स्थान नपुंसकलिंग होता है।The phone is charging.
Explanation: Phone एक वस्तु है।The clock is old.
Explanation: इसमें लिंग नहीं होता।The computer is fast.
Explanation: मशीन नपुंसकलिंग होती है।The bag is heavy.
Explanation: Bag निर्जीव है।The house is big.
Explanation: इमारतें नपुंसकलिंग होती हैं।The road is wide.
Explanation: Road निर्जीव वस्तु है।
Change Masculine to Feminine
Rule 1:Some masculine nouns change into entirely different feminine words.
- Man – Woman
- Boy – Girl
- Father – Mother
- King – Queen
- Husband – Wife
- Son – Daughter
- Uncle – Aunt
- Brother – Sister
- Bull – Cow
- Cock – Hen
Explanation:There is no fixed suffix rule here; the word itself changes.
Rule 2: By adding –ess
Many masculine nouns form the feminine by adding –ess.
- Actor – Actress
- Poet – Poetess
- Lion – Lioness
Host – Hostess - Tiger – Tigress
- Heir – Heiress
- God – Goddess
Note:Sometimes spelling also changes slightly.
Rule 3: By changing –or into –ress
Masculine nouns ending in –or often change to –ress.
- Actor – Actress
- Emperor – Empress
- Governor – Governess
- Instructor – Instructress
- Waiter – Waitress
Important:Not all –or words follow this rule in modern English.
Rule 4: By changing –er into –ess
Some masculine nouns ending in –er form feminine by –ess.
- Master – Mistress
- Manager – Manageress
- Murderer – Murderess
- Sorcerer – Sorceress
Modern Usage:Some of these are becoming gender-neutral.
Rule 5: By adding –ine
Certain nouns form the feminine by adding –ine.
- Hero – Heroine
- Czar – Czarina
- Signor – Signorina
Spelling Change:Hero + ine = Heroine (drop ‘o’ sound)
Rule 6: By adding –a
Some words form feminine gender by adding a.
- Poet – Poeta
- Sultan – Sultana
- Prophet – Propheta
Usage:Less common in modern English but seen in literature.
Rule 7: By changing –man into –woman
Words ending with –man often change to –woman.
- Man – Woman
- Chairman – Chairwoman
- Policeman – Policewoman
- Salesman – Saleswoman
- Postman – Postwoman
Modern English:Often replaced by gender-neutral terms like police officer.
Rule 8: By using a different form for animals
Many animals have separate masculine and feminine names.
- Horse – Mare
- Dog – Bitch
- Lion – Lioness
- Peacock – Peahen
- Fox – Vixen
- Stag – Doe
Rule 9: By adding female / she- before the noun
Some nouns remain the same, but gender is shown by adding a word.
- Doctor – Female doctor
- Teacher – She-teacher
- Child – Girl child
Used when no separate feminine word exists.
Rule 10: By changing spelling slightly
Some words change form slightly.
- Monk – Nun
- Wizard – Witch
- Bachelor – Single
These are fixed pairs, not rule-based.
Rule 11: Common Gender (No change)
Some nouns are same for both genders.
- Teacher
- Student
- Doctor
- Friend
- Cousin
