Question

Which of the following inflections primarily indicates gender in English grammar?

• A. Plural '-s'
• B. Possessive '-s'
• C. Pronoun forms like 'he'/'she'
• D. Past tense '-ed'

Answer 1

Answer:

C. Pronoun forms like 'he'/'she'

Understanding Gender Inflection in English Grammar

• Inflection refers to a change in the form of a word (typically the ending) to express a grammatical function or attribute, such as tense, mood, person, number, case, or gender.
• In English, unlike many other languages (e.g., German, French, Spanish),

  nouns do not primarily indicate gender through inflection

  . Most English nouns do not change their form based on whether they refer to a male, female, or inanimate object. For instance, 'teacher' can refer to a man or a woman without changing its form.
• Similarly,

  verbs and adjectives also do not inflect for gender

  in English. Verbs change for tense (e.g., 'walks,' 'walked') and sometimes for person/number (e.g., 'he walks'), but not for gender. Adjectives remain the same regardless of the gender of the noun they modify (e.g., 'a tall man,' 'a tall woman').
• The primary way gender is indicated grammatically in modern English is through

  pronoun forms

  .
• Personal pronouns explicitly differentiate between male, female, and non-gendered/inanimate entities:
  • Masculine singular: he, him, his
  • Feminine singular: she, her, hers
  • Neuter/Non-gendered singular: it, its
  • Plural (gender-neutral): they, them, their, theirs (also used as a singular gender-neutral pronoun for unknown or non-binary gender)
• This distinction in pronoun forms is a key grammatical feature for identifying gender in English sentences.

• Historical Context:

  • Old English had grammatical gender for nouns, similar to modern German or Latin. Nouns were masculine, feminine, or neuter, often irrespective of natural gender, and their articles and adjectives would agree in gender.
  • Over centuries, English lost most of its grammatical gender system, evolving into a language where natural gender (the actual sex or gender of the referent) is primarily expressed through pronouns.

• Key Points for Competitive Exams:

  • Be aware of the difference between grammatical gender (a property of the word itself, as in Old English or German) and natural gender (the actual gender of the entity, as primarily indicated by pronouns in modern English).
  • The use of 'they/them' as a singular gender-neutral pronoun is increasingly common and accepted in contemporary English, especially when the gender is unknown or non-binary.
  • Words like 'actor/actress' or 'waiter/waitress' are examples of gender-specific nouns, but these are distinct nouns, not inflected forms of a single root noun for gender. Many such pairs are becoming less common in favor of gender-neutral terms (e.g., 'actor' for all, 'server').