What are neuter words? Feminitives are words of the feminine gender, alternative or paired to similar concepts of the masculine gender. The words are feminine and masculine.
1. Swan. "Swan" is masculine. But if, for example, we are talking about Pushkin’s fairy tales (“Look, a white swan is swimming over flowing waters”), it is female. What do modern dictionaries say about this? That “swan” is really masculine, but in folk poetic speech this word can also be used as a feminine noun.
2. Tulle. In stores where they sell or sew curtains, you can often hear something about “beautiful tulle.” In fact, “tulle” is masculine: “curtain tulle.” By the way, in the source language (French) this noun is also masculine.
3. Shampoo. This word should also not be given “feminine” qualities. “Shampoo” is it. And unlike some other words, it never changed gender. So you can wash your hair with “new shampoo”, but not with “new shampoo”.
4. Callus. This is a feminine noun. However, quite often it is mistakenly attributed to masculine. The fact is that before (once upon a time) there really were fluctuations between masculine and feminine, but in the end the female one won. Which, by the way, is rather an exception - the male usually wins. Patriarchy reigns in linguistics!
5. Parcel. Feminine. The source language (French) is affected, as well as the defining word - parcel: “send by parcel post”.
6. Mascara. It’s hard to confuse anything here, it’s clearly “mascara”. But we need to talk about this word separately because it has a twin (or almost a twin) - “tush” without a soft sign at the end. Touche is a piece of music.
7. Report card. Actually, the “report card” is masculine, but there is one exception: “table of ranks.” This legislative act XVIII century, and in its name the word “table” is feminine: “look at the table of ranks.” In all other cases, the masculine gender remains.
9. Shutter. In this case, it is necessary to distinguish between options. "Shutter" is masculine. “Shutter” - female.
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"Words of feminine and masculine gender"
We learn to correctly use the feminine and masculine gender in words that look very similar.
1. Swan. "Swan" is masculine. But if, for example, we are talking about Pushkin’s fairy tales (“Look, a white swan is swimming on top of flowing waters”), it is female. What do modern dictionaries say about this? That “swan” is really masculine, but in folk poetic speech this word can also be used as a feminine noun.
2. Tulle. In stores where they sell or sew curtains, you can often hear something about “beautiful tulle.” In fact, “tulle” is masculine: “curtain tulle.” By the way, in the source language (French) this noun is also masculine.
3. Shampoo. This word should also not be given “feminine” qualities. “Shampoo” is it. And unlike some other words, it never changed gender. So you can wash your hair with “new shampoo”, but not with “new shampoo”.
4. Callus. This is a feminine noun. However, quite often it is mistakenly attributed to masculine. The fact is that before (once upon a time) there really were fluctuations between the masculine and feminine genders, but in the end the feminine won. Which, by the way, is rather an exception - the male usually wins. Patriarchy reigns in linguistics!
5. Parcel. Feminine. The source language (French) is affected, as well as the defining word - parcel: “send by parcel post”.
6. Mascara. It’s hard to confuse anything here, it’s clearly “mascara”. But we need to talk about this word separately because it has a twin (or almost a twin) - “tush” without a soft sign at the end. Touche is a piece of music.
7. Report card. Actually, the “report card” is masculine, but there is one exception: “table of ranks.” This is a legislative act of the 18th century, and in its name the word “table” is feminine: “look at the table of ranks.” In all other cases, the masculine gender remains.
8. Piano. Nowadays the word "piano" is masculine, but previously there were two variants. You could say “beautiful piano.” And this is where the masculine gender won.
9. Shutter. In this case, it is necessary to distinguish between options. "Shutter" is masculine. “Shutter” - female.
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It turns out that even the word “vegetable” can cause problems. The fact is that the dictionaries also include “vegetable” with a soft sign at the end. This feminine word has a collective meaning and denotes a collection of vegetables: “every vegetable.” But in living speech, “vegetable” is not used in this sense at all, and it is rare in written language.
We already know that in Spanish All words are masculine and feminine. But there is a special group of words in which there is no difference between masculine and feminine. That is, there are words that can be feminine or masculine. Moreover, when changing gender, some words change their meaning radically, while another group of words, if they change, do so only slightly.
The Spaniards call this phenomenon “género ambiguo”, I would advise you to just remember this, it happens... Because these words are quite often found in our everyday life. These are not exceptions, but rather the norm of Spanish vocabulary. Let's look at them and try not to get confused in their use. So:
No difference in meaning
IN modern dictionary The Royal Academy of the Spanish Language lists them as words with two genders at the same time. There are about 105 such words in total, but many of them are not so often found in everyday speech. Some of them are outdated or specific. Not every Spaniard is able to explain the difference, if any. For example, many words are used in different genders due to the existence of many dialects, geographical location, habits and frequency of use. Here are the most common ones with some comments:
El linde - la linde: border, boundary, boundary sign.
El mar - la mar: sea and figurative meaning “a lot of something.”
Most often you will, of course, come across “el mar”. The geographical name of the sea will always be used only with masculine: el mar Negro, el mar Mediterráneo.
La mar is used more in a metaphorical sense, in poetry, for example. People who live in close proximity to the sea and are associated with it also speak in the feminine gender:
Lloró una mar de lágrimas (cried a sea of tears), una mar de intrigues (sea of intrigue), alta mar (open sea).
El reuma - la reuma: rheumatism. (most often used reumatismo).
El tilde - la tilde: tilde (a sign above letters, for example, the letter Ñ in Spanish), trifle, trifle. It is used in the feminine and masculine gender in grammar, and in the meaning of “trifle, trifle” it is said la tilde.
El arte, like la arte, is used to mean “art, creativity, skill.” True, for example, in this case, when we are talking about the arts in general, for example, Academia de Bellas Artes (Academy of Fine Arts), the feminine gender is used.
El azúcar - la azúcar: sugar. Russian translators, and more often in everyday life, say “el azúcar”. But there may also be a female version, for example, in the description of the production process, so be prepared not to be surprised.
For reference: These words were once also found with both the article el and la, but now these words cannot be used in both genders at the same time. Since in latest version The Royal Academy Dictionary lists them as words with only a masculine article. Although, as was noted earlier, no one has canceled the spread of a certain form in colloquial speech in different regions of the country.
El fin - la fin: the end
El puente - la puente: bridge
El sabor - la sabor: taste
El análisis - la análisis: analysis
Words that change their meaning with gender
It is necessary to know that they exist and take on a different meaning, depending on which article is in front. Again, this is not a complete list of these words, but these are the most commonly used ones. Pay attention to how the translation changes and try to simply remember them.
Cutting, section | Courtyard (royal) |
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Money, capital | |||
Priest | Treatment remedy |
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Police officer | |||
mulberry tree | Morality |
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Guide, conductor | Guide |
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Customs Officer | Sight, vision |
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Security guard, sentry | |||
Forehead, front side |
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Message, notice | Party, participant, role in the theater |
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Consonance | Consonant |
Poet or poetess? What is the correct name for a woman who works as a doctor, teacher or director? If you say “school director,” the person will also be offended! But the thing is that this is a feature of our grammar that appeared not so long ago - the alteration of words, originally formed only in the masculine gender, into the feminine gender. Feminitives in the Russian language have not yet been worked out too deeply, but the language is developing, and this topic is undergoing changes along with it.
Deeper and more accurate
Feminitives are neologisms that are not discussed in too much detail in the rules of the language. In many ways, this phenomenon has yet to be formalized, subject to laws, and introduced into official language practice. Many say that one of the most important features of the phenomenon is a reflection of how much opportunity there is in a language to form new words. To some extent, word-forming affixes demonstrate the richness of grammar. Scientific materials, devoted to this issue, are heterogeneous, and the opinions of the authors differ significantly.
Currently, examples of feminists cause a lot of controversy in professional circles. Others are convinced that using such words is a sign of bad taste. There are also opinions that there is no point in raising such a question at all. Some believe that the introduction of corresponding words into the language reflects the strengthening of the status of women in society, but there are those who are ready to argue with this opinion. Artist, female artist - is it so important to designate gender when the main idea is the essence, that is, the talent to draw pictures?
Should I or should I not?
According to many, men and women have equal rights, and this fact should be reflected in the language. It is important to enter on language level distinction between men and women, since androcentrism does not allow the fair sex to actively participate in social life. Limitations are everywhere, even in the terminology used. A society that is naturally formed by men and women, due to the peculiarities of word formation, turns into one consisting predominantly of men.
New feminine words are frowned upon by some. Philologists explain this by saying that people need time to get used to a new term, and over time, the practice of using such lexemes will become stable. But now neologisms seem to many to be rude, incorrect, they seem to hurt the ears. But there are also those who are convinced that new feminine words have already firmly entered our lives. Their sound has become familiar; it doesn’t seem like we had to deal with anything special. However, to this day there remain lovers of traditions, for whom the new feminine words accepted by the majority of society seem alien and incorrect.
Why is this necessary?
Feminitives are not just a linguistic phenomenon, but a reflection in the language of women’s desire to become noticeable, to be recognized as part of society. This is no less important within the framework of implementation in the labor field. Feminitives are one of the methods of displaying women through linguistic tools, allowing us to fight for gender equality and equal rights for all participants in society. At the same time, the idea of the feminine reflects the desire of the grammar of any language to simplify.
The use of neologisms makes it possible to bypass ugly constructions when the term is masculine, and the verb or adjective conveys belonging to the female gender. To avoid a silent phrase, the feminine could come to the rescue. “Doctor Sergeeva came on shift” - you must agree, it sounds illogical. Doctor is a word that must be followed by a masculine noun. Of course, you can find a way out of the situation and specify “female doctor,” but the perception of such phrases is quite complex, so it is unlikely to take root in real speech. The best way out is feminitives.
How to do this?
Creating a new word is not easy. Not everyone will be able to formulate it sonorously and correctly. For example, this is exactly how the word “doctor” appeared, rude, negative - it was created not within the framework of the constructive idea of reflecting gender equality, but as an attempt to belittle a person.
Feminitives are words that must be formed taking into account linguistic logic by a person with linguistic intuition. The result should be productive and sound good. It is important that feminists conform to the patterns of word formation characteristic of the language.
What to use?
The main tool that helps create a feminine is a suffix. Currently, it is customary to talk about productive and unproductive. The first category includes those that in the current period in our language are used quite actively to form words. Classic options: -ka, -nitsa, -inya and the like.
The elements -iha, -ya, -i(es)sa, -sha are usually considered unproductive. You can also use these in language practice, but the result will have a slightly different shade.
-ka
This suffix can easily be called one of the most frequently used, especially if we take into account the logic of our language. It is through him that almost all currently applicable feminists are formed.
Often, ordinary people perceive words with this addition negatively, believing that the suffix gives them a derogatory connotation. Linguists explain this by its similarity to the specific slang that exists at school, because the first such neologism that comes to mind for most is “teacher.” This forms a negative pattern for this category of feminists. In reality, the suffix does not have any markings, including negative connotations. It is multi-valued, belongs to the category of productive, and can be safely used in different situations. Returning to the above example about doctors: in modern times literary language There is the word “medic”, which can be used as a normative word.
-itsa
Such feminives are not very widespread, and the most characteristic manifestation observed in the language at present is “kotitsa/kotitsy”. It can be explained as follows: it is now quite common to address friendly audiences as “seals,” but this word has a clear gender identity. Since at times we are talking about the female half, it was necessary to choose an adequate term that would fit into the logic of the language, sound correctly and reflect a semantic load not directly related to representatives of the animal world.
But if you need to talk about a female animal, then they use a completely normative word for her - cat. It is not a neologism, has nothing to do with feminism, and is not used as a tool to achieve gender equality in society.
-nitsa
This suffix is one of the most frequently used. Feminives formed with its help appeared in the language quite a long time ago, so they are familiar to most modern people. Surprisingly, the suffix did not always mean exactly what it is currently applied to. For example, a “teacher” will be called a woman who teaches at school, but in earlier times the suffix only denoted that a man belonged to the corresponding specialty due to marital relations. For example, the name “colonel” was not the one who had official service, but simply the colonel’s wife.
The change in social structure could not but affect the language, and words in -nitsa became independent. Now they are used to describe a woman in herself, rather than to characterize a man through her. Only one who herself occupies the corresponding post can be called a colonel. However, the word is purely colloquial. If you need to draw up an official document, you will have to use “colonel”, “teacher”. Perhaps, over time, the feminists of this group will enter the language as official, independent, literary, normative words, but so far this has not happened.
-ch(sch)itsa
For the Russian language, this suffix is quite typical and characteristic, and feminives formed with its use seem logical and acceptable for everyday speech. Others, however, believe that such an increase gives a hint of mockery and disrespect. Currently, the method of word formation is quite widely used both in writing and in conversation.
-inya
More often you can find this suffix when talking about the type of activity, profession, the name of which comes from the ancient Greek language. If the ending of the word is -log, then the designation of belonging to the female gender will most often be made through the suffix -ina.
This suffix is quite typical for the scientific environment and the medical field. From the point of view of some linguists, the formation of feminines in the future through -inya will be the most characteristic option for the indicated type of words, as well as similar ones. For example, “duchess”, “princess”, although they have nothing to do with scientific activity or medical activity, are formed according to the same logic. These words seem euphonious, acceptable, and the method of word formation, according to many, is the future in which language will be a reflection of equality.
-isa
This suffix is a classic representative of the unproductive group. Currently, it is used very little and in narrow circles. Linguists have been arguing for quite some time about what meaning the suffix conveys. Some believe that it is an address, and a classic example would be the word “headmistress.” There are also opponents of this idea, explaining that in this particular case the negative emotional connotation is associated with the specific atmosphere at school and has nothing to do with the suffix as a word-formation tool. Some promote the “director” option as the most productive, positive, and without negative connotations.
-essa
In modern Russian, this suffix is used quite rarely. In general, its use gives the word an elevated connotation, changing the style of speech. This type of word is characterized by a pronunciation that is somewhat atypical for the Russian language. Before [e] the consonant sounds hard. This is exactly what the word “poetess” is.
-iha
This method of word formation results in a rather simple-sounding, rude word. In earlier times, the variant was used to designate a woman whose husband has some profession, and it was used only in colloquial, simple speech. For example, a colonel's wife could easily be called a colonel's wife, but not to her face - otherwise the lady would be offended. An alternative option for using this method of creating neologisms is to designate a woman’s belonging to some profession. This is where the words “weavers” and the like came from. Modern Russian is distinguished by a negative assessment of words formed using this suffix. Neologisms designed to strengthen the position of women in society are not created with its use.
-sha
Like the method described above, this suffix results in a word that sounds extremely dissonant to a modern Russian person. In earlier times it was applied to women whose husbands had some profession. Currently, this practice has not survived; it is considered an outdated form. In dictionaries, words formed through this suffix are noted as colloquial. They cannot be used in normative speech or simple conversational speech without fear of offending the interlocutor.
Feminitives in -sha exist, although they are very few. This is the exception rather than the rule. Such words have never been used to indicate that a woman belongs to a man. Thus, the literary background to the formation of the feminine word “musician” is quite interesting, which can currently be used freely. Also, the word “librarian” does not have offensive connotations. From the point of view of a number of linguists, it is necessary to use the “librarian” option, but in real language the first one has taken root much better. However, some philologists say that “librarian” is the very word that balances on the line between colloquial language and neutral. But the word “giantess” is known to everyone, is quite widespread, and is often found in literary works and can be used in ordinary speech. It does not acquire any negative connotations due to the suffix.
But the word “captain” is somewhat different from others formed through the same suffix. It is impossible to form a feminine for it using the classical addition -ka, since captain is the name of a headdress. According to some linguists, it would be correct to use the suffix -essa, which would result in "capitaness". However, alive spoken language exists according to its own rules, and if you ask the average person what he would call the captain’s wife or the woman steering the ship, the answer will be the same - “captain”.
The last two suffixes considered have a lot in common. They are characterized by strong colloquial overtones. The three main meanings of these suffixes are:
- the object is female;
- marker of disdain;
- designation of a colloquial expression.
-ya
From a point of view, this suffix is neutral. Its only meaning is to indicate that the object is female. There is an established practice of adding such a suffix to those words whose stem ends in -un.
Traditions: it's time to change
Centuries ago, each gender had clear roles that were not passed on from one to the other. Now life has changed quite a lot, this division is a thing of the past. People are faced with the need to maintain new tools for designating the gender of the object in question. It is important to be able to convey the characteristic in an adequate, neutral way, without resorting to derogatory, mocking suffixes. A woman strives for equal rights - and this is completely reasonable and natural. Providing privileges as significant as those enjoyed by men in all areas of life is not only wages and employment opportunities, but also correct terminology, respectful attitude, recognition of a person’s capabilities, regardless of gender.
Feminitives are neologisms, at least at the current moment in the development of language. Many linguists, as well as specialists in social development They assume that such words will soon become normative, familiar to the general public, and used in a variety of situations. It is important to form them taking into account linguistic logic, in accordance with the word formation models characteristic of the Russian language, and then the result will be really good - it will give useful words, due to which the language will be gender sensitive.
The main grammatical feature that is inherent in almost every part of speech is the category of gender. How many genders do nouns have and how to correctly determine this category for this part of speech? You will find answers to these and other questions in the article.
What is the gender of nouns?
Category of gender of nouns in Russian– a grammatical feature indicating the gender (gender) of the object (living creature, phenomenon) called by the noun or its absence. Gender is permanent grammatical feature nouns and is studied in 6th grade.
Features of the category of gender of nouns
There are three types of nouns in the Russian language:
- Male (he). Masculine nouns in the singular I. p. have the endings -a, -я, and zero.
Examples of masculine nouns: dad, uncle, knife, table, hawk.
- Female (she). Feminine nouns in the singular I. p. have the endings -a, -я, and zero.
Examples of feminine nouns: wife, nanny, night, glory, desert.
- Average (it). Neuter nouns in the singular I. p. have endings -о, -е.
Examples of neuter nouns: swamp, gold, sun, lake, jam.
There is also a class of words, the so-called general gender, which, depending on the context, can be used in both masculine and feminine genders
(boring, sissy, crybaby, smart, greedy).
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How to determine the gender of a noun?
For animate nouns, the gender coincides with the gender of a living creature, a person (father, interlocutor - m.r., girlfriend, gossip - f.r.).
For all nouns, gender can be determined by the grammatical form of the adjective, which agrees with the noun:
- Masculine whose? Which? ( white snow, good advice);
- Feminine. Nouns agree with adjectives that answer questions - whose? which? (fresh newspaper, cheerful friend);
- Neuter. Nouns agree with adjectives that answer questions - whose? which? (green field, tall building).
literature, in an article, before history, in a man. B. Without a manuscript, near the square, among the youth, from the mother.
2. If the 2nd declension includes masculine nouns with a zero ending and neuter nouns, then in what chain do these words stand?
A. Catalog, research, day
B. Furniture, shadow, role
3. Indicate nouns of the 3rd declension.
A. Love, sadness, fidelity
B. GUEST, leader, horse
4. Indicate nouns that have the form only singular.
A. Rose, aster, tulip
B. Sorrel, cotton, beets.
5. What form do collective nouns have?
A. Form only a single thought.
B. Form only plural
6. Noun Droshky has only a plural form, since..... . Choose an explanation.
A. Is distracted.
B. Is real
7. Indicate differently inflected nouns.
A. with desire
B. over time
V. with name
A. over the flame
B. above the banner
V. above the building
1. Place stress in the following words: carpenter, teenage, facilitate, force, agent, nap, minus. 2. Choose synonyms for the words (by2-3 examples): Cumbersome, pointless, unique, embarrassed, vain. 3. Indicate the morphemic composition of the words: Harmless, jumped out, victorious, load, tightly. 4. Decline: Some, 12.495. 5. Determine the number of nouns (singular, plural, only singular, only plural): West, painting, child, people, canned food, gates, degrees, childhood, ravine. 6. Open the brackets, select the desired form: 1. On the personal (account, account) of many employees, there is a significant overfulfillment of the plan. 2. The plane landed at (airport, airport) 3. A volumetric hardening department (of rails, rails) was built at the plant. 4. The base shipped four tons (tomatoes) to the store. 5. The hospital received two hundred sets of blankets, pillowcases and (sheets, sheets) 7. Decline the nouns in the singular and plural. In all forms, place emphasis: Fine, language, stamp, speed. 8. From these full-form adjectives, form the short form of the masculine, feminine, neuter gender and plural form. In all forms, place the emphasis: Good, pear, bad, light. 9. Form the genitive case from these plural nouns. Highlight the endings. Minxes, amps, rails, potions, cells, apprentices.
Find phrases in which the words are connected using agreement: A) Blue sky, green grass. B) There was a whiff of cold, traces of soundC) Portrait of a man, letter from mother
D) Mom and daughter, complete the letter.
E) Worked tirelessly, went to study
This noun has only a plural form.
Find the verb in the sentences imperative mood:
A) The wounded man was lying on his back.
B) The brothers are very similar to each other.
C) I would have learned my lesson if I hadn’t been lazy.
D) Complete the task without errors.
E) They worked tirelessly, trying to get there on time.
Indicate the part of speech that is not independent:
A) Pronoun
B) Verb.
C) Adverb.
D) Communion.
Specify the perfect verb:
E) danced
Determine the gender of the noun “crybaby”:
A) Feminine.
B) Neuter
C) Masculine
D) General kind
E) Has no gender
Specify an indirect question:
A) She asked her friend if she had written the essay.
B) The duty officer reported those who were absent.
C) What happened to you, friends?
D) I said that I love flowers, but not like this.
E) She interrupted me, saying it was none of my business.
Indicate the word from which a participle can be formed:
A) Love
B) Joy
C) Happiness
D) Desire
E) Kindness
The cardinal number is in nominative case:
A) We bought one and a half meters of silk.
C) You can’t make four out of three minutes.
C) Two anchors hold the ship stronger.
D) One hundred pages of text are already ready.
E) The car reached a speed of up to one hundred kilometers per hour
HELP PLEASE! URGENTLY!1. Find the extra word.
a) highway
b) taxi
c) salami
d) pince-nez
2. Find the extra word
a) Baku
b) pony
c) coffee
d) coat
3. Mark the feminine nouns.
a) banjo
b) peri
c) ranch
d) ivashi
4. Mark the feminine nouns.
a) kohlrabi
b) referee
c) veil
d) aloe
5. Mark feminine nouns
a) shampoo
b) callus
c) mole
d) report card
6. Mark the masculine nouns.
a) tulle
b) roofing felt
c) vermicelli
d) wormwood
7. Mark neuter nouns
a) sconce
b) bourgeois
c) bully
d) wallet
8. Mark the neuter nouns.
a) neckline
b) Frau
c) bureau
d) foyer
9. Mark the masculine nouns
a) dandy
b) vanilla
c) metro
d) resume
10. Mark the masculine nouns
a) tulle
b) stew
c) callus
d) braggart
11. Mark neuter nouns
a) boot
b) little mind
c) small town
d) log
12. Mark the nouns that belong to the general gender
a) alibi
b) counterpart
c) crybaby
d) Suluguni
13. Mark the nouns that belong to the general gender
a) jury
b) attache
c) protégé
d) crybaby
14. Mark the nouns related to the feminine gender
a) ATC
b) research institute
c) UN
d) Moscow State University
15. Mark the masculine nouns
a) computer
b) Ministry of Foreign Affairs
c) hydroelectric power station
d) APU
