Grammar for Everyone - Barbara Dykes 2007
Gender
Introduction
Part II The parts of speech
Gender is a grammatical term for classifying nouns according to masculine, feminine or neuter. The classification is largely irrelevant in English, which does not attribute gender to inanimate objects. Many languages do, however, for no obvious reason.
For example:
in French we have la chaise (feminine) meaning chair
but le tabourer (masculine) meaning stool
la pierre (feminine) meaning stone
but le roc (masculine) meaning rock
Note, too, how the article (the word for ’the’) in these examples has a feminine and a masculine form. We are fortunate then that the English gender generally speaks for itself and we have few alternative forms. Many former distinctions have become blurred in modern times, even politically incorrect, so that we seldom refer to an actress or an authoress as opposed to actor or author. In some respects this is a pity as a ’unisex’ term provides less information.
1.6 Activities: number and gender
These exercises are particularly useful for young children and ESL students and provide useful spelling practice, too.
1. Students make two columns, headed Singular and Plural, in their grammar exercise books. Dictate words which the students write in the appropriate column. They then add the counterpart of each word in the other column. Useful words for this exercise include those that sound like plurals such as:
loops, men, maze, jacket, tax, hose, coach, children, mouse, fleas, doses
2. The same activity can be used to practise gender, adding a third column for ’Neuter’ and a fourth for ’Either’ (masculine or feminine), for example:
Masculine Feminine Neuter Either
king queen throne monarch
Others may include tyrant, master, leader, princess, ancestor, mechanic, pilot, uncle, blessing, conductor.
Some words have a technical definition of neuter but carry a gender by custom, for example: a ship is often referred to as ’she’. These provide an interesting subject for discussion.
3. Exercises 1 and 2 can be done orally.
4. Students are given sentences in the singular which they then translate into plural.
Reminder: It should still make sense!
a. The old woman (women) carried her (their) bag (bags) across the street (streets).
b. A mouse (mice) ate a hole (holes) in my (our) Dad’s sock (socks).
c. I (we) still have a bit (bits) of glass in my (our) foot (feet).
d. His (their) brother (brothers) is (are) painting the roof (roofs) of my (our) house (houses).
e. A fly (flies) fell in her (their) glass (glasses) of juice.
5. Students are given sentences in the plural which they then translate into singular.
a. The ladies (lady) still have (has) our (my) buckets (bucket) weeks (a week) after the fires (fire).
b. John’s friends (friend) are (is) going to school on their (his/her) horses (horse).
c. Naughty children (a naughty child) pushed them (he/she/it) into the puddles (puddle).
d. Our (my) sisters (sister) bought ice-creams (an ice-cream) with their (her) pocket money.