What Is the Masculine Gender? (with Examples)

by Craig Shrives

Masculine Gender (English Grammar)

Masculine gender is one of three genders in English grammar. The three genders for nouns and pronouns are as follows:

masculine
feminine
neuter

If the word does not denote something obviously masculine or feminine, then it is a neuter word.

Click on Two Masculine Nouns

Getting ready...

Here are the associated singular pronouns:

Gender	Pronoun	Possessive Determiner (a type of pronoun)	Possessive Pronoun
masculine pronouns	he Example: He is warm.	his Example: Those are his tools.	his Example: Those are his.
feminine pronouns	she Example: She is warm.	her Example: Those are her shoes.	hers Example: These are hers.
neuter pronouns	it Example: It is warm.	its Example: Those are its toys.	its Example: These are its. (rare)

Unless its meaning makes it obviously male (e.g., "boy," "king," "boar") or female (e.g., "princess," "hen," "mare"), a noun in English is neuter by default. Here are two noteworthy points related to gender:

Large machines. Large machines such as ships and trains, which - by default - are neuter, are sometimes affectionately given a female gender (i.e., referred to as "she" or "her").
Animals. An animal is referred to as "it." It is only referred to as "he" or "she" when the sex is known.

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Why Should I Care about Masculine Gender?

There are three noteworthy issues related to masculine gender.

(Issue 1) Finding an alternative to "his/her."

In the past,"he" or "his" was used in documents to denote "his or her." This is no longer an acceptable practice, and "their" is used instead. Look at these sentences:

Every person must remember which horses he rode.
Anyone who neglects his responsibility will be sacked.

These are only correct if all the people are male. Using "he" or "his" for unknown people was the accepted practice in the past, but no longer.

Here are some options:

Every person must remember which horses he/she rode.
Anyone who neglects his/her responsibility will be sacked.

These are okay, but they're clumsy solutions. These are better versions:

Every person must remember which horses they rode.
Anyone who neglects their responsibility will be sacked.

(Issue 2) Choosing the right version of "blonde/blond."

The word "blond/blonde" changes depending on its gender.

"Blond" is a noun meaning a fair-haired male.

The blond has a unique dancing style. (for a boy)

"Blond" is also an adjective used to describe anybody (regardless of their gender) with fair hair.

The blond girl and the blond boy make a nice blond couple.

"Blonde" is a noun meaning a fair-haired female.

The blonde a unique dancing style. (for a girl)

"Blonde" is also an adjective used to describe a female (or females) with fair hair.

The blonde girl and the blond boy make a nice blond couple.

(Issue 3) Using gender-neutral pronouns for people who do not identify themselves as either male or female.

Some people identify as non-binary; i.e. they do not identify as male or female. These people might ask you to use "they" (and of course "their," "them," "theirs," "themself") or just their name instead of a pronoun (e.g., "Sarah," "Sarah's," "Sarah's self") when talking about them.

Read more about using non-binary pronouns.

Key Points

When writing about someone whose gender is unknown, don't use "he/she," "his/her," etc. Use "they," "their," etc. For example:

Any person who believes ~~he/she is~~ they are being disadvantaged should raise the issue with ~~his/her~~ their team leader.

Use "blond" for men and "blonde" for women.
Use "they" when talking about non-binary people.

Interactive Exercise

Here are three randomly selected questions from a larger exercise, which can be edited, printed to create an exercise worksheet, or sent via email to friends or students.

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