Gender of Nouns

We may group nouns according to gender. In English, there are four genders: masculine, feminine, indefinite (either sex), and neuter (no sex). Below are examples of each gender of nouns.

MASCULINE 
father
brother
boar
buck
uncle
stallion
rooster

FEMININE 
mother
sister
sow
doe
aunt
mare
hen

INDEFINITE 
parent
sibling
pig
deer
relative
horse
chicken

NEUTER 
flower
car
pencil
biscuit
bologna
socks
nest

Examples 1

Tell whether each noun is masculine, feminine, indefinite, or neuter.

  1. key
  2. aunt
  3. boy
  4. baby
  5. paintbrush
  6. bull
  7. child
  8. hen
  9. teacup
  10. doe

Solutions

  1. neuter
  2. feminine
  3. masculine
  4. indefinite
  5. neuter
  6. masculine
  7. indefinite
  8. feminine
  9. neuter
  10. feminine

Examples 2

From the sentences below, write each noun and its gender.

  1. Six parents, two moms and four dads, cheered for the children.
  2. On that airplane are my five siblings—two sisters and three brothers.
  3. In the hot, smelly stall, a sow nursed her wiggly piglets.
  4. My cousin saw deer nibbling petunias in the front yard.
  5. The buck stood proudly, his antlers high.
  6. That man wearing a green vest is Jeb's uncle.
  7. According to the song, a doe is a female deer.
  8. All the grandparents, four grandmothers and three grandfathers, brought sandwiches and fruit to share.
  9. Of all the horses, that black stallion was the most magnificent.
  10. My aunt likes to ride the gentle mare.
  11. In the coop, chicks gathered around the hen for warmth.
  12. Before the sun rose, a rooster crowed, waking the dogs as well as my husband.

Solutions

We practice naming the gender of nouns.

  1. parents, indefinite; moms, feminine; dads, masculine; children, indefinite
  2. airplane, neuter; siblings, indefinite; sisters, feminine; brothers, masculine
  3. stall, neuter; sow, feminine; piglets, indefinite
  4. cousin, indefinite; deer, indefinite; petunias, neuter; yard, neuter
  5. buck, masculine; antlers, neuter
  6. man, masculine; vest, neuter; uncle, masculine
  7. song, neuter; doe, feminine; deer, indefinite
  8. grandparents, indefinite; grandmothers, feminine; grandfathers, masculine; sandwiches, neuter; fruit, neuter
  9. horses, indefinite; stallion, masculine
  10. aunt, feminine; mare, feminine
  11. coop, neuter; chicks, indefinite; hen, feminine; warmth, neuter
  12. sun, neuter; rooster, masculine; dogs, indefinite; husband, masculine