Masculine, Feminine and Neuter
Gender belongs to the word, and describing words match it.
How It Works
| Gender | Common endings | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | -us, -er, and many third declension nouns | amicus (friend), puer (boy), rex (king) |
| feminine | -a, and many third declension nouns | puella (girl), rosa (rose), via (road) |
| neuter | -um | verbum (word), donum (gift) |
A feminine noun does not have to name a woman. A road (via) and the earth (terra) are feminine words.
A few nouns in -a name men and are masculine, such as poeta (poet) and agricola (farmer). They take masculine adjectives: poeta bonus.
The plural matches too: domini boni (good lords). In a neuter noun, the nominative and the accusative look the same.
Examples (5)
- Dominus bonus est.
The lord is good.
Dominus is masculine, so the adjective is bonus.
- Puella bona est.
The girl is good.
Puella is feminine, so the adjective is bona.
- Verbum bonum est.
The word is good.
Verbum is neuter, so the adjective is bonum.
- Poeta bonus est.
The poet is good.
Poeta ends in -a but names a man, so the adjective is masculine.
- Via longa est.
The road is long.
Via is feminine even though a road is not a woman, so the adjective is longa.
Common Mistakes
Giving an adjective the wrong gender.
Puella bonus est.Puella bona est.Puella is feminine, so the adjective must be feminine too: bona.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Each noun family has typical genders, so the five families come first.
Related Patterns
- Adjectives: bonus, bona, bonum
How adjectives match the gender of a noun.
Level 2 - First Declension: puella
Most first declension nouns are feminine.
Level 1 - Second Declension Neuter: verbum
The neuter nouns of the second declension.
Level 1 - Which Gender Is It?
Gender in the biggest family of nouns.
Level 4 - Roma est magna (Rome Is Big)
An adjective after est matches the subject.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Masculine, Feminine and Neuter in Bubblegum
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