Question

Identify the noun which is in neutral gender from the options below:
a. Poet
b. Poem
c. Poetess
d. Pauper

Answer 1

Hint: A neutral gender noun is a set of nouns which does not refer to any of the genders (male or female) particularly. It can be used for both genders, say for example; singer, parent, teacher.

Complete answer:
Since neutral gender refers to none of the other genders, in particular, the noun which has a neutral gender from the given choices is option d, that is, pauper. A pauper refers to someone who is bankrupt or is a very poor person. It does not matter whether the person is male or female. Therefore, the answer is option d.
Option a is wrong because a poet usually refers to a male poet which is not a gender-neutral noun, thereby. The female of a ‘poet’ is called a poetess.
Option b is incorrect because a poem is a piece of rhythmic verses, expressing ideas and emotions in a compact manner. It is a concrete noun. A poem has no male or female noun. It does not qualify as having a gender.
Option c is wrong because a poetess is referred to a female poet, therefore being gender-specific. As mentioned above, the male of a poetess is called a poet.

Thus, the correct option is d.

Note: Gender nouns need to be learned up from grammar books and websites. While many gender nouns are easy to learn (such as those which change from masculine to feminine by adding -ess), some are exceptional like drake (male) - duck (female). Also, the word ‘nurse’ is gender-neutral. The nurse does not refer to female nurses only.