Glossary of Grammatical Terms

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G	[gender] [gender-specific noun] [genitive case] [gerund] [gerund phrase]

^ top Gender

The gender of a noun can be masculine, feminine or neuter. In English, all nouns are neuter unless they obviously refer to something male or female.

cup - neuter gender / boy - masculine gender / princess - feminine gender

Ships and other machines are sometimes affectionately given a feminine gender.

I have worked most of my life on this boat; she is a beauty.

It is also common practice to use a masculine gender in writing to represent both masculine and feminine. For example:

Each actor must read his line when the light by his name illuminates.

The alternative is very unwieldy:

Each actor/actress must read his/her line when the light by his/her name illuminates.

^ top Gender-Specific Noun

A gender-specific noun refers specifically to a male or female. For example:

soldier / cat / whale / mouse < not gender specific

actress / waitress / vixen / bitch < gender specific (female)

bull / uncle / drake / ram < gender specific

Dad, shall I feed the sow or just the birds? [gender-specific noun]

^ top Genitive Case

The genitive case is one of the 4 main cases in modern English. Whilst it has other uses (explained below), it is predominantly the form used to indicate possession. For nouns, it is usually created by adding 's to the word or by preceding it with "of".

Carl's haircut

the edge of the table

There are several other ways of forming the genitive case:

Type	Example	Genitive Case
singular noun	dog	dog's dinner
plural nouns	dogs	dogs' dinner
singular noun ending s	Chris	Chris' hat or Chris's hat
plural nouns not ending s	Men	Men's room

Take out the hamster's wheel and open the back of the cage. [genitive case]

When the genitive case is used to show possession, it is also called the "possessive case".

Dan's bike (genitive case and possessive case)

However, the genitive case does not always indicate possession. For example:

children's songs (genitive case)
(In this example, the children do not own the songs. They are songs for children.)
Constable's paintings (genitive case)
(Constable may not own the paintings. This denotes only that they are paintings by Constable.)

Possessive adjectives and possessive personal pronouns are also considered as being genitive forms.

our carpet (our - a genitive form of us)
Can I use yours? (yours - a genitive form of you)

Related lesson: "Apostrophes".

^ top Gerund

A gerund is a noun formed from a verb by adding the suffix "ing". The following are all gerunds:

swimming / running / drinking

Although a gerund is a noun, it can still take an object (like a verb). This is known as a gerund complement.

Playing the guitar is easier than it seems.

gerund (gerund complement)

Gerunds look identical to present participles (adjectives formed from verbs).

Running the tap will clear the air pocket. (gerund, i.e. a noun)

Can you fix the running tap? (participle, i.e. an adjective)

I detest climbing this rock. I had my first fall here. [gerund]

Related lesson: "Verbs".

^ top Gerund Phrase

A gerund is a noun formed from a verb by adding the suffix "ing". The following are all gerunds:

climbing / polishing / eating

Although a gerund is a noun, it can still take an object (like a verb). The gerund, its object and all modifiers (adjectives and adverbs) are known as a gerund phrase.

Eating blackberries without washing them will make you ill.

gerund phrase

I am not prepared to authorise climbing the cliffs in the dark.

gerund phrase

So, you think beating eggs with a fork is acceptable, do you? [gerund phrase]

Related lesson: "Verbs".