Question

Identify the noun which is in neutral gender from the options below:
(a)poet
(b)poem
(c)poetess
(d)pauper

Answer 1

Hint: The nouns in the given question have an assigned gender in the English language. Go through the given words, understand what they mean and point out for which gender they are generally used.

Complete answer:
Gender is defined as the classifying of a noun or pronoun is feminine in gender, masculine in gender, or neuter in gender. An example of gender is the word ‘man’ which is a masculine noun, and its feminine noun is ‘woman’. There are pre-assigned genders in English, meaning that it is not subject to change. They cannot be changed under any circumstances. However, there is a third gender in English called ‘neuter gender’ which is assigned to inanimate objects that do not possess gender or do not classify to be gendered.

Now, we know what gender refers to in English grammar. Let’s look at the given options
one by one:
(a)poet - The word ‘poet’ refers to a man who creates poetry, so this word is a masculine noun. This word is not a neuter gender noun. This means that this is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
(b)poem - The word ‘poem’ refers to a piece of writing in which the expression of feelings and ideas is given intensity by particular attention to diction (sometimes involving rhyme), rhythm, and imagery’, so this word is a neuter noun. This means that this is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
(c)poetess - The word ‘poetess’ refers to a woman who creates poetry’, so this word is a feminine noun. This word is not a neuter gender noun. This means that this is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
(d)pauper - The word ‘pauper’ refers to a very poor person’, so this word is a masculine/feminine noun. This word is not a neuter gender noun. This means that this is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.

Note: Collective nouns, even if they refer to living-beings, are used as neuter-nouns. For example, The army is doing its task; The police are called to manage the situation. In these sentences, the nouns (army and police) refer to only living-beings. But they are used only as neuter-nouns.