Gender in English: Masculine, Feminine, Common and Neuter Nouns

Why do we say actor and actress but teacher for both? Why is a ship called she? Why is a bachelor matched with a spinster, a widower with a widow, a wizard with a witch? Gender in English follows its own logic, and this guide explains every type of gender, every pattern for forming the feminine, and the tricky pairs that are hard to remember.

This guide explains the four genders of nouns, the pronouns that match them, the three ways of forming the feminine, and the modern use of gender-neutral words. It includes tables with over 200 words, key points, common mistakes, ten practice questions and a teacher activity.

It builds on Parts of Speech and connects with Singular and Plural Nouns and Common Errors in English. Spelling in this guide follows British English.

1.What Is Gender in Grammar?

In grammar, gender is the classification of nouns (and the pronouns that replace them) as masculine, feminine, common or neuter. In many languages, such as French, Spanish, German and Urdu, every noun has a grammatical gender, even a table or a book, and adjectives or verbs may change to match it.

English is different. It uses natural gender: a noun is masculine or feminine only when it names a male or female person or animal. Things and ideas are neuter. This is why table needs no gender but lion and lioness do.

2.The Four Genders

Common gender is sometimes called dual gender or, in modern grammar, gender-neutral. Some grammars also use the term epicene for words like sheep and mouse, which have one form for both sexes.

3.Gender and Pronouns

• Masculine: The king lost his crown. He was angry.
• Feminine: The queen found her crown. She was relieved.
• Neuter: The crown was heavy. It was made of gold.
• Common gender: when the person is unknown, writers once used he. Modern usage prefers he or she, a rewrite in the plural, or the singular they: Each student must bring their own book. Singular they has been used in English for centuries and is now accepted by major dictionaries and style guides.
• Babies and animals are often called it when the sex is unknown, but he or she when known or when the speaker feels close to the animal (my dog… she).

4.Three Ways of Forming the Feminine

5.Different Words: People and Family

Many of the most common pairs are completely different words. Some have changed or fallen out of use, which makes them harder to remember.

Notes. Lord and lady are titles, but lady is also a polite word for any woman. Spinster is old-fashioned and can sound unkind, so use unmarried woman or just woman in modern writing. Ms is used when the marital status is unknown or unimportant.

6.Adding -ess

The suffix -ess is the most common marker of the feminine. It may replace the ending (actor → actress), be added (host → hostess), or drop a vowel (tiger → tigress, sculptor → sculptress).

Many modern writers avoid some of these (authoress, poetess, manageress, sculptress) and use the plain word (author, poet, manager, sculptor) for both sexes. Titles such as duchess, countess, princess, empress and goddess remain standard.

7.Other Endings and Borrowed Pairs

These pairs came into English from French, Latin, Italian and Russian. They are common sources of spelling mistakes.

Spelling note. The accent in fiancé and fiancée and in divorcé and divorcée matches the extra -e of the feminine. Both words sound the same. For blond and blonde, many writers use blonde for women and blond for men.

8.Gender in the Animal World

Animal names show a very rich variety of pairs, and many are particularly hard to remember.

Some animals use one word for both sexes (sheep, deer, giraffe, elephant, mouse, crow). Others use the female word as the general word: duck, goose and cow can name both sexes in everyday use, but the male has its own name (drake, gander, bull).

9.Common Gender Nouns

These nouns do not show whether the person is male or female. The sex is shown by context or by a gender word: a male teacher, a female doctor.

teacher, student, doctor, cousin, friend, parent, child, baby, pupil, orphan, speaker, person, guest, neighbour, cook, singer, artist, driver, pilot, worker, minister, president, sibling, relative, servant, enemy, musician, dancer, lawyer, judge, engineer, scientist, citizen, colleague, customer, patient, passenger, teenager, infant, adult, spouse, athlete.

10.Neuter Nouns

Neuter nouns name things without sex: objects, places, qualities and ideas. They are replaced by it. Examples: table, book, river, mountain, chair, house, city, country, car, pen, computer, idea, freedom, happiness, honesty, justice, time, school, bridge, cloud, desk, window, lamp, ocean, music.

11.Personification: Giving Gender to Things

Writers sometimes give a thing a gender to make it feel alive. This is called personification.

Using it for a ship or a country is now standard and fully correct.

12.Gender-Neutral Language

Modern English prefers words that do not assume the sex of the person. Many style guides, schools and employers use the neutral forms below, especially in formal writing and job titles.

Tip. Use actor for both women and men if the person prefers it, and use the feminine forms for titles (queen, duchess) that are defined by gender.

13.Common Mistakes with Gender