Masculine and Feminine Gender Lesson for Beginners 

Lesson Overview

• What Is Gender in Grammar?
• What Are Masculine and Feminine Nouns?
• What Are Common Gender Nouns?
• What Are Gender Neuter Nouns?
• Practice Questions and Examples

Learning about gender of nouns helps us identify whether a word refers to a male or female. In grammar, "gender" tells us if a noun or pronoun is masculine (male), feminine (female), both, or neither. 

This lesson will explain masculine and feminine nouns in a simple way, provide examples, and give practice questions. By the end, you should be able to tell if a noun is masculine, feminine, common, or neuter and give the opposite gender for many nouns.

What Is Gender in Grammar?

In English grammar, gender is a category for nouns (and pronouns) that indicates whether they are male, female, either, or neither. For example, nouns referring to men or boys are masculine, while nouns for women or girls are feminine. Some nouns can refer to either gender (common gender), and nouns for non-living things have no gender (neuter). Unlike some languages, most English nouns don't change form for gender, but many words for people and animals do have masculine and feminine forms.

Types of Noun Gender:

• Masculine Gender: words for male persons and animals (e.g. boy, king, bull)
• Feminine Gender: words for female persons and animals (e.g. girl, queen, cow)
• Common Gender: words that can refer to either a male or a female (e.g. student, teacher, baby)
• Neuter Gender: words for things that are not alive (no gender) (e.g. chair, book, city)

Note: Gender in grammar is just a way to classify nouns. It is not about someone's personality or roles. It simply tells if the noun is male, female, either, or neither. For instance, mother is feminine because it means a female parent, and father is masculine because it means a male parent.

Take This Quiz Now!

Grammar Test: Noun Gender Quiz

What Are Masculine and Feminine Nouns?

Masculine and feminine nouns come in pairs – one for the male and one for the female. Often, these are different words or have different endings. For example, the feminine form of duke is duchess. A male horse is called a stallion, while a female horse is a mare. Below are some common masculine–feminine noun pairs:

People – Masculine vs. Feminine

Examples: An uncle is your dad or mom's brother (male), while an aunt is their sister (female). A prince is a male royal, and a princess is a female royal. Be careful with some pairs: the feminine of master is mistress, not "hostess" (hostess is the feminine of host, a different word). Similarly, a monk is a man who lives in a monastery, and a nun is a woman in a convent.

Animals – Masculine vs. Feminine

Many animals also have special masculine and feminine names:

What Are Common Gender Nouns?

Common gender nouns are nouns that can refer to either a male or a female. The word itself does not tell you the gender – it could be either. For instance, child, friend, or cousin might be male or female. You can use the same word for a boy or a girl. Common gender nouns are very useful when gender isn't known or isn't important.

• Examples: teacher, student, baby, parent, doctor, engineer, cat, bird (when you don't know if it's male or female).
  • A student can be a boy or a girl.
  • The word parent could mean mother or father.
  • Doctor could refer to a male doctor or a female doctor – the noun doesn't change.

What Are Gender Neuter Nouns?

Neuter gender nouns are words for things that are not alive. These are neither male nor female. Most objects, places, and ideas fall into this category. In English, we usually use the pronoun "it" for neuter nouns.

• Examples: table, pencil, city, car, school, book, flower, etc.
  • A book isn't male or female – it's an object (neuter).
  • London is a place, so it has no gender in English (neuter).
  • Sunshine or happiness (ideas) have no gender; they are neuter nouns.

Don't Miss Out on This Quiz!

masculine and feminine gender quiz questions and answers

Practice Questions and Examples

Q1: What is the feminine of "uncle"?
A: Aunt. (Uncle = male, Aunt = female)

Q2: What is the feminine form of "lion"?
A: Lioness. (Lioness is the female lion.)

Q3: What is the masculine of "nun"?
A: Monk. (A nun is female, the male counterpart is a monk.)