Question

Identify the feminine form of the noun:
Sheep

a) Sheep
b) Ewe
c) Sheepess
d) She-sheep

Answer 1

Hint: Grammatical gender is a system of noun categorization. A common gender includes masculine and feminine categories. While masculine nouns are words for males, Feminine nouns are words for females.

Complete answer:

Let’s look at the 4 types of gender nouns-
Masculine gender- These nouns indicate boys, men, and male animals. Example- hunter, father, washermen, etc.
Feminine gender- These nouns indicate girls, women, and female animals. Example- huntress, mother, washerwomen, etc.
Common gender- This gender specifies nouns that can either be male or female. Example- doctor, teacher, dancer, etc.
Neutral gender- This gender specifies nouns that are neither male nor female. Example- rock, paper, scissor etc.
Now, let’s look at the given options-
Option a ‘Sheep’ can be used as both the singular or plural form of the word ‘Sheep’. It is also used to generally specify the animal. Sheep is not the feminine form of the given word. So, the given option is incorrect.
Option b ‘Ewe’ is the feminine form of the noun ‘sheep’. Ram is the name of the male sheep. And Ewe or Eve is the feminine form of Ram. Hence, it is the correct option.
Option c ‘Sheepess’ does not exist in the English language. So, this option is incorrect.
Option d ‘She–sheep’ is not the feminine form of sheep. So, this option is also incorrect.
The correct answer is Option ‘b’.

Note: The feminine form has no specific rules to be deduced from a male form. We can also add the words ‘male’ and ‘female’ to show the distinction between different nouns. Example- Female sheep, male sheep.