.
Nouns referring to males or females
1.73 English nouns are not masculine, feminine, or neuter in the way that nouns in some other languages are. For example, most names of jobs, such as teacher , doctor , and writer , are used for both men and women.
But some nouns refer only to males and others only to females.
For example, some nouns indicating people’s family relationships, such as father , brother , and son , and some nouns indicating people’s jobs, such as waiter and policeman , are used only to refer to males.
In the same way mother , sister , daughter , waitress , actress , and sportswoman are used only to refer to females.
-ess and -woman
1.74 Words that refer to women often end in -ess , for example actress , waitress , and hostess . Another ending is -woman , as in policewoman and sportswoman .
…his wife Susannah, a former air stewardess .
A policewoman dragged me out of the crowd.
Steph Burton was named sportswoman of the year.
-man and -person
1.75 Words ending in -man are either used to refer only to men or to both men and women. For example, a postman is a man, but a spokesman can be a man or a woman.
Some people now use words ending in -person , such as chairperson and spokesperson , instead of words ending in -man , in order to avoid appearing to refer specifically to a man.
USAGE NOTE
1.76 Most names of animals are used to refer to both male and female animals, for example cat , elephant , horse , monkey , and sheep .
In some cases there are different words that refer specifically to male animals or female animals, for example a male horse is a stallion and a female horse is a mare .
In other cases the general name for the animal is also the specific word for males or females: dog also refers more specifically to male dogs, duck also refers more specifically to female ducks.
Many of these specific words are rarely used, or used mainly by people who have a special interest in animals, such as farmers or vets.
Here is a list of some common specific words for male and female animals:
stallion
mare
~
bull
cow
~
cock
hen
~
dog
bitch
~
drake
duck
~
fox
vixen
~
gander
goose
~
lion
lioness
~
ram
ewe
~
buck
hind
stag
doe
~
tiger
tigress
~
boar
sow
Referring to activities and processes: -ing nouns
1.77 When you want to talk about an action, activity, or process in a general way, you can use a noun that has the same form as the -ing participle of a verb.
These nouns are called different things in different grammars: gerunds, verbal nouns, or -ing forms. In this grammar they are referred to as -ing nouns .
It is sometimes difficult to distinguish an -ing noun from an -ing participle , and it is usually not necessary to do so. However, there are times when it is clearly a noun, for example when it is the subject of a verb, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition.
Swimming is a great sport.
The emphasis was on teaching rather than learning .
The closing of so many mills left thousands unemployed.
Some people have never done any public speaking .
The spelling of -ing nouns is explained in the Reference Section. The use of -ing adjectives is explained in paragraphs 2.63 to 2.76 .
uncountable nouns
1.78 Because -ing nouns refer to activities in a general way, they are usually uncountable nouns ; that is, they have only one form, cannot be used with numbers, and do not usually have a determiner in front of them.
For more information on uncountable nouns, see paragraphs 1.23 to 1.33 .
1.79 You often use an -ing noun because it is the only noun form available for certain verbs, such as eat , hear , go , come , and bless . Other verbs have related nouns that are not -ing nouns: for example see and sight , arrive and arrival , depart and departure .
Eating is an important part of a cruise holiday.
…loss of hearing in one ear.
Only 6 per cent of children receive any further training when they leave school.
used with
Nouns referring to males or females
1.73 English nouns are not masculine, feminine, or neuter in the way that nouns in some other languages are. For example, most names of jobs, such as teacher , doctor , and writer , are used for both men and women.
But some nouns refer only to males and others only to females.
For example, some nouns indicating people’s family relationships, such as father , brother , and son , and some nouns indicating people’s jobs, such as waiter and policeman , are used only to refer to males.
In the same way mother , sister , daughter , waitress , actress , and sportswoman are used only to refer to females.
-ess and -woman
1.74 Words that refer to women often end in -ess , for example actress , waitress , and hostess . Another ending is -woman , as in policewoman and sportswoman .
…his wife Susannah, a former air stewardess .
A policewoman dragged me out of the crowd.
Steph Burton was named sportswoman of the year.
-man and -person
1.75 Words ending in -man are either used to refer only to men or to both men and women. For example, a postman is a man, but a spokesman can be a man or a woman.
Some people now use words ending in -person , such as chairperson and spokesperson , instead of words ending in -man , in order to avoid appearing to refer specifically to a man.
USAGE NOTE
1.76 Most names of animals are used to refer to both male and female animals, for example cat , elephant , horse , monkey , and sheep .
In some cases there are different words that refer specifically to male animals or female animals, for example a male horse is a stallion and a female horse is a mare .
In other cases the general name for the animal is also the specific word for males or females: dog also refers more specifically to male dogs, duck also refers more specifically to female ducks.
Many of these specific words are rarely used, or used mainly by people who have a special interest in animals, such as farmers or vets.
Here is a list of some common specific words for male and female animals:
stallion
mare
~
bull
cow
~
cock
hen
~
dog
bitch
~
drake
duck
~
fox
vixen
~
gander
goose
~
lion
lioness
~
ram
ewe
~
buck
hind
stag
doe
~
tiger
tigress
~
boar
sow
Referring to activities and processes: -ing nouns
1.77 When you want to talk about an action, activity, or process in a general way, you can use a noun that has the same form as the -ing participle of a verb.
These nouns are called different things in different grammars: gerunds, verbal nouns, or -ing forms. In this grammar they are referred to as -ing nouns .
It is sometimes difficult to distinguish an -ing noun from an -ing participle , and it is usually not necessary to do so. However, there are times when it is clearly a noun, for example when it is the subject of a verb, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition.
Swimming is a great sport.
The emphasis was on teaching rather than learning .
The closing of so many mills left thousands unemployed.
Some people have never done any public speaking .
The spelling of -ing nouns is explained in the Reference Section. The use of -ing adjectives is explained in paragraphs 2.63 to 2.76 .
uncountable nouns
1.78 Because -ing nouns refer to activities in a general way, they are usually uncountable nouns ; that is, they have only one form, cannot be used with numbers, and do not usually have a determiner in front of them.
For more information on uncountable nouns, see paragraphs 1.23 to 1.33 .
1.79 You often use an -ing noun because it is the only noun form available for certain verbs, such as eat , hear , go , come , and bless . Other verbs have related nouns that are not -ing nouns: for example see and sight , arrive and arrival , depart and departure .
Eating is an important part of a cruise holiday.
…loss of hearing in one ear.
Only 6 per cent of children receive any further training when they leave school.
used with
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