What Is the Neuter Gender? (with Examples)

What Is the Neuter Gender? (with Examples)

Neuter gender is one of three genders in English grammar. The three genders for nouns and pronouns are: The associated singular pronouns are:

GenderPronounPossessive Adjective
(a type of pronoun)		Absolute Possessive Pronoun
masculine pronounshe
Example: He is cold.		his
Example: These are his boots.		his
Example: These are his.
feminine pronounsshe
Example: She is cold.		her
Example: These are her earrings.		hers
Example: These are hers.
neuter pronounsit
Example: It is cold.		its
Example: These are its toys.		its
Example: These are its. (rare)

Unless the 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.

Large machines (e.g., ships, trains, cranes) are neuter by default. However, sometimes they are affectionally given a feminine gender (i.e., called she).

By default, an animal is referred to as it. However, if the sex is known, it will be called he or she.

See Also

What is gender? What are nouns? What are pronouns? What is the feminine gender? What is the masculine gender? What are possessive adjective? What are absolute possessive pronouns? Glossary of grammatical terms