LANGUAGE 4-DELOS REYES

Language 4

Gender of Nouns

Reference: English This Way, pp.72-82

Gender denotes sex. The feminine gender denotes the female sex. The masculine gender denotes the male sex. The neuter gender denotes neither of the sexes. Use qualifying adjective such as lady, female, male or man to determine the gender of nouns that denote either the male or the female. Study the differences in spelling between the masculine and feminine nouns.

1. By using a different ending

Example: Actor-actress, sultan-sultana, hero-heroine

2. By using a different word

Example:  father-mother, brother-sister, ram-ewe

3. By changing a part of the word

Example:  Schoolmaster-schoolmistress, manservant-maidservant, landlord-landlady

Please look on pages 74-75 for more examples.

Some English words like pupil, teacher and principal either refers to male or female. In writing sentences, it is common to use any of the nouns with masculine pronouns (he, him, & his), whether the noun may refer to a female. Other see such use of English as sexist-that one favors the masculine gender rather than the feminine gender. Sexist language also includes using words that are commonly attributed to males, such as chairman and postman; to females such as stewardess and saleslady; and to both sexes, like mankind and man.

Please refer to pages 76-77 for some ways to be non-sexist in using English.

Nominative functions of nouns

Reference:  English This way, pp. 83-90

          Taken from the poem about water are the sentences in which some nouns have been underlined. Find out how these underlined nouns are used.

1. Water is something we need.

2. God, our Father, made it.

3. Humans, protect God's special creation.

4. It is God's creation.

          The following are the uses or functions of nouns.

1. Subject

2. Appositive

3. Direct address

4. Subject complement

See pages 84-85 for clearer explanation.

Objective functions of nouns

Reference:  English This Way, pp.91-99

          Nouns have an objective functions. These nouns function as object in the sentence. They can either be object of the verb or the object of a preposition.

Here are the objective functions of a noun.

1. A direct object (DO)- functions as the direct receiver of an action verb.

Example:  The girl combs her hair.

    Hair receives the action comb.

2. An indirect object (IO)-tells to whom or for whom an action is done. It comes before a direct object but after an action verb.

Example: Karyll sent her sister a letter.

   Karyll did not send her sister. She sent a letter to her sister. The noun receiving the direct object is the indirect object.

3. An object of a preposition (OP)- comes after a preposition

Example: Kenan left his toy train under the bed.

   Bed comes after the preposition under.

Prepared by: Ms. Lizel Delos Reyes