grammatical gender: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C1Academic, Technical, Linguistic
Quick answer
What does “grammatical gender” mean?
A system of noun classification found in many languages, where nouns are assigned to categories (such as masculine, feminine, neuter, or others) that govern agreement with articles, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A system of noun classification found in many languages, where nouns are assigned to categories (such as masculine, feminine, neuter, or others) that govern agreement with articles, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs.
A linguistic classification system entirely separate from biological sex, used to group nouns based on formal properties which trigger grammatical agreement, often influencing morphology and syntax.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage. Spelling differences may appear in related terms (e.g., 'analyse' vs. 'analyze' in discussions about gender).
Connotations
Identical. Both refer to the same linguistic concept.
Frequency
Equally used in academic/linguistic contexts in both regions.
Grammar
How to Use “grammatical gender” in a Sentence
The grammatical gender of [NOUN]to assign grammatical genderto have grammatical genderlacking in grammatical genderVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “grammatical gender” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- Languages grammaticalise gender in various ways.
- The system genders all nouns as either common or neuter.
American English
- Languages grammaticalize gender in different ways.
- The system genders nouns based on their ending.
adverb
British English
- The nouns are grammatically gendered.
- The language treats objects grammatically as feminine.
American English
- The nouns are grammatically gendered.
- The language categorises objects grammatically as feminine.
adjective
British English
- The grammatical-gender system is complex.
- She is analysing grammatical-gender assignment.
American English
- The grammatical gender system is intricate.
- She is analyzing grammatical gender assignment.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Extremely rare. Only if discussing language localization or translation services.
Academic
Primary context. Used in linguistics, language studies, comparative philology.
Everyday
Very rare. Might appear in discussions about learning foreign languages.
Technical
Standard term in descriptive linguistics, grammar textbooks, and natural language processing.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “grammatical gender”
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “grammatical gender”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “grammatical gender”
- Using 'gender' alone when 'grammatical gender' is needed for clarity.
- Assuming grammatical gender always correlates with biological sex.
- Confusing pronoun agreement in English (natural gender) with a grammatical gender system.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Modern English does not have a grammatical gender system for nouns. It uses natural gender for some pronouns (he/she/it). Old English had a grammatical gender system (masculine, feminine, neuter).
No. Grammatical gender is a formal linguistic classification. A noun can have feminine grammatical gender (e.g., German 'Mädchen' - girl) while referring to a biologically female entity, but it often does not correlate at all (e.g., Spanish 'la pared' - the wall, is feminine).
Languages vary widely. Some have two (masculine/feminine), three (masculine/feminine/neuter), or more. Some languages have noun class systems with many categories (e.g., Bantu languages can have over ten noun classes).
Its origins are not fully understood but are historical. It likely arose from earlier systems of classification (animate/inanimate, shape, etc.) and became grammaticalised. It serves to create agreement patterns, which can aid in parsing sentences and clarifying references.
A system of noun classification found in many languages, where nouns are assigned to categories (such as masculine, feminine, neuter, or others) that govern agreement with articles, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs.
Grammatical gender is usually academic, technical, linguistic in register.
Grammatical gender: in British English it is pronounced /ɡrəˈmætɪkl ˈdʒendə/, and in American English it is pronounced /ɡrəˈmædɪkəl ˈdʒendər/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: Grammatical Gender = Grammar's Genders. It's about word rules, not people. A 'table' (la mesa) is feminine in Spanish because of grammar, not because it's actually female.
Conceptual Metaphor
GRAMMATICAL GENDER IS A LABELLING SYSTEM. (Nouns are 'tagged' with a label that other words must match.)
Practice
Quiz
What is the primary function of grammatical gender in a language?