Nouns and pronouns in the English language are said to take one of the three genders – masculine, feminine and neuter. Through the course of this article, you will be introduced to the feminine gender and examples of nouns and pronouns in the feminine gender.
Table of Contents
- What Is Feminine Gender?
- Examples of Feminine Gender
- List of Pronouns in the Feminine Gender
- Practice Exercise on Feminine Gender
- Frequently Asked Questions on Feminine Gender in English Grammar
What Is Feminine Gender?
The feminine gender is used to refer to the nouns and pronouns naming the female counterparts of human beings, animals and birds. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines the feminine gender as “belonging to a class of words that refer to female people or animals and often have a special form”. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the feminine gender is defined as words “of, relating to, or constituting the gender that ordinarily includes most words or grammatical forms referring to females”.
Examples of Feminine Gender
Here is a list of examples of words relating to human beings, animals and birds in the feminine gender.
- Girl
- Woman
- Lady
- Aunt
- Actress
- Waitress
- Duchess
- Princess
- Grandmother
- Daughter
- Mother
- Mother-in-law
- Sister
- Sister-in-law
- Seamstress
- Tailoress
- Queen
- Landlady
- Heroine
- Empress
- Heiress
- Hostess
- Duck
- Lioness
- Peahen
- Hen
- Doe
- Vixen
- Mare
- Goose
- Cow
- Sow
- Tigress
- Ewe
List of Pronouns in the Feminine Gender
- She
- Her
- Herself
- Hers
Practice Exercise on Feminine Gender
Go through the following sentences and rewrite them using the feminine gender of the underlined nouns and pronouns.
1. We spotted a ram on the way up the hill.
2. The policeman asked us to pay a fine for skipping the signal.
3. We saw 3 tigers when we went on a jungle safari.
4. Watching a deer in its own habitat is a wonderful experience.
5. There was a drake in the pond.
6. All the boys were asked to participate in the interschool sports competition.
7. The Prince had to make a decision as soon as possible.
8. He brought his father to the parent-teacher meeting.
9. Nobody could find where he was.
10. There was a fox hiding behind the tree.
Here are the answers to the above questions. Go through them to find if you have used the feminine gender of the underlined words correctly.
1. We spotted a ewe on the way up the hill.
2. The policewoman asked us to pay a fine for skipping the signal.
3. We saw 3 tigresses when we went on a jungle safari.
4. Watching a doe in its own habitat is a wonderful experience.
5. There was a duck in the pond.
6. All the girls were asked to participate in the interschool sports competition.
7. The Princess had to make a decision as soon as possible.
8. She brought his mother to the parent-teacher meeting.
9. Nobody could find where she was.
10. There was a vixen hiding behind the tree.
Frequently Asked Questions on Feminine Gender in English Grammar
What is the feminine gender?
The feminine gender is used to refer to the nouns and pronouns naming the female counterparts of human beings, animals and birds.
What is the definition of feminine gender?
The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines the feminine gender as “belonging to a class of words that refer to female people or animals and often have a special form”. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the feminine gender is defined as words “of, relating to, or constituting the gender that ordinarily includes most words or grammatical forms referring to females”.
What is the opposite gender of ‘sow’?
The opposite gender of ‘sow’ is ‘bear’ or ‘boar’. Sow is the term used to refer to the feminine gender of both bear and boar.
What is the feminine gender of ‘prince’?
The feminine gender of ‘prince’ is ‘princess’.
What is the opposite gender of ‘lady’?
The opposite gender of ‘lady’ is ‘gentleman’, where ‘lady’ is the feminine gender and ‘gentleman’ is the masculine gender.
