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 Gender
Feminine Gender
Common Gender
Neuter Gender
1. Masculine Gender (पुल्लिंग)
Examples:
Man, Boy, Father, King, Lion
The boy is playing in the park.
Explanation (English): The word boy refers to a male child, so it is Masculine Gender.
व्याख्या (Hindi): Boy शब्द एक पुरुष बच्चे को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।My father works in a bank.
Explanation (English): Father is a male parent, so it belongs to Masculine Gender.
व्याख्या (Hindi): Father पुरुष माता-पिता को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।The king ruled the country wisely.
Explanation (English): King is a male ruler, which makes it Masculine Gender.
व्याख्या (Hindi): King पुरुष शासक होता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।His brother lives in Delhi.
Explanation (English): Brother is a male sibling, so it is Masculine Gender.
व्याख्या (Hindi): Brother पुरुष भाई को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।The actor won an award.
Explanation (English): Actor refers to a male performer, hence Masculine Gender.
व्याख्या (Hindi): Actor पुरुष कलाकार को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।The uncle visited us yesterday.
Explanation (English): Uncle is a male relative, so it is Masculine Gender.
व्याख्या (Hindi): Uncle पुरुष रिश्तेदार होता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।The lion is the king of the jungle.
Explanation (English): Lion refers to the male animal, making it Masculine Gender.
व्याख्या (Hindi): Lion नर जानवर को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।That man is very honest.
Explanation (English): Man clearly refers to a male human being, so it is Masculine Gender.
व्याख्या (Hindi): Man पुरुष मनुष्य को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।The prince is brave.
Explanation (English): Prince is the male child of a king or queen, so it is Masculine Gender.
व्याख्या (Hindi): Prince राजा का पुत्र होता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।The teacher praised the boy.
Explanation (English): Boy represents a male gender, hence Masculine Gender.
व्याख्या (Hindi): Boy पुरुष लिंग को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह पुल्लिंग है।
2. Feminine Gender (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 refers to a female child, so it is Feminine Gender.
व्याख्या: Girl स्त्री बच्चे को दर्शाता है, इसलिए यह स्त्रीलिंग है।My mother is a teacher.
Explanation: Mother is a female parent.
व्याख्या: Mother महिला माता को दर्शाता है।The queen is kind.
Explanation: Queen is a female ruler.
व्याख्या: Queen महिला शासक होती है।Her sister lives nearby.
Explanation: Sister is a female sibling.
व्याख्या: Sister महिला बहन को दर्शाता है।The actress won a prize.
Explanation: Actress is a female performer.
व्याख्या: Actress महिला कलाकार को दर्शाता है।My aunt is visiting us.
Explanation: Aunt is a female relative.
व्याख्या: Aunt महिला रिश्तेदार होती है।The lioness is hunting.
Explanation: Lioness is a female animal.
व्याख्या: Lioness मादा जानवर को दर्शाता है।That woman is honest.
Explanation: Woman refers to an adult female.
व्याख्या: Woman वयस्क महिला को दर्शाता है।The princess is brave.
Explanation: Princess is a female royal child.
व्याख्या: Princess राजकुमारी होती है।The nurse helped the patient.
Explanation: Nurse here refers to a female.
व्याख्या: यहाँ Nurse महिला को दर्शाता है।
3. Common Gender (उभयलिंग)
Common Gender refers to nouns that can be male or female. Common Gender (उभयलिंग) ऐसे शब्द होते हैं जो पुरुष या स्त्री दोनों के लिए प्रयोग होते हैं।
Teacher, Student, Child, Doctor, Friend
The teacher is explaining the lesson.
Explanation: Teacher can be male or female.
व्याख्या: Teacher पुरुष या महिला दोनों हो सकते हैं।My friend is very helpful.
Explanation: Friend has no fixed gender.
व्याख्या: Friend का कोई निश्चित लिंग नहीं होता।The student is preparing for exams.
Explanation: Student can be a boy or a girl.
व्याख्या: Student लड़का या लड़की हो सकता है।The doctor is on duty.
Explanation: Doctor may be male or female.
व्याख्या: Doctor पुरुष या महिला दोनों हो सकते हैं।The child is sleeping.
Explanation: Child does not show gender.
व्याख्या: Child लिंग नहीं बताता।The cousin lives abroad.
Explanation: Cousin is used for both genders.
व्याख्या: Cousin दोनों लिंगों के लिए होता है।The neighbor helped us.
Explanation: Neighbor has common gender.
व्याख्या: Neighbor उभयलिंग है।The baby is crying.
Explanation: Baby can be male or female.
व्याख्या: Baby लड़का या लड़की हो सकता है।The teacher scolded the student.
Explanation: Both words are common gender.
व्याख्या: दोनों शब्द उभयलिंग हैं।The player performed well.
Explanation: Player does not specify gender.
व्याख्या: Player लिंग स्पष्ट नहीं करता।
4. Neuter Gender (नपुंसकलिंग)
Neuter Gender refers to non-living things, objects, or ideas. Neuter Gender (नपुंसकलिंग) निर्जीव वस्तुओं या चीज़ों को दर्शाता है।
Examples:
Book, Table, Chair, Pen, Car
The book is on the table.
Explanation: Book is a thing, so Neuter Gender.
व्याख्या: Book वस्तु है, इसलिए नपुंसकलिंग है।The pen is blue.
Explanation: Non-living object.
व्याख्या: निर्जीव वस्तु है।This chair is broken.
Explanation: Chair has no life.
व्याख्या: Chair निर्जीव है।The room is clean.
Explanation: A place is Neuter Gender.
व्याख्या: स्थान नपुंसकलिंग होता है।The phone is charging.
Explanation: Phone is a thing.
व्याख्या: Phone एक वस्तु है।The clock is old.
Explanation: No gender applies.
व्याख्या: इसमें लिंग नहीं होता।The computer is fast.
Explanation: Machine = Neuter Gender.
व्याख्या: मशीन नपुंसकलिंग होती है।The bag is heavy.
Explanation: Bag is non-living.
व्याख्या: Bag निर्जीव है।The house is big.
Explanation: Buildings are Neuter Gender.
व्याख्या: इमारतें नपुंसकलिंग होती हैं।The road is wide.
Explanation: Road is a thing, not living.
व्याख्या: Road निर्जीव वस्तु है।
Change Masculine to Feminine Gender
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