Page 28 - New Grammar with a Smile 4

Rules for forming the feminine gender

Ê For some words we add ess to the masculine nouns. Sometimes, the spellings may
have to be changed slightly before ess is added.

For example,

y prince—princess y waiter—waitress y god—goddess

Ê The feminine gender of many nouns is formed differently.

For example,
y man—woman y hero—heroine

y sir—madam y landlord—landlady

y uncle—aunt y bridegroom—bride

y husband—wife y nephew—niece
y headmaster—headmistress

Ê Animals and some birds can also be divided into masculine and feminine gender.
For example,

Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine

y tiger — tigress y fox — vixen

y bull — cow y cock — hen

y lion — lioness

A. Use the words given in the box to complete the masculine and feminine
pairs correctly.

peacock goose drake stallion doe bull drone ram fox sow

Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine

1. gander 2. buck

3. cow 4. vixen

5. mare 6. queen bee

7. peahen 8. ewe

9. duck 10. boar

28