Question

Identify the noun which is not in common gender from the options below:
a. baby
b. leader
c. monk
d. enemy

Answer 1

Hint: Common gender nouns are the same for both genders. Their spelling does not change when there is a gender change.

Complete answer:
A noun which denotes either a male or a female gender is called common gender. It is distinctly different from a neuter gender because neuter gender refers to inanimate objects. However, common gender nouns only refer to nouns whose gender cannot be discerned immediately.

Now, we know what common gender nouns are. Let’s look at our given options:
a. baby - This word is the same in feminine and masculine form. Its spelling does not change. This means that ‘baby’ is a common gender noun. So, this is an incorrect option.
b. leader - This word is also the same in feminine and masculine form. Its spelling does not change. This means that the word ‘leader’ is a common gender noun. So, this is an incorrect answer.
c. monk - This word is masculine, and its feminine form is ‘nun’. It has a completely different spelling. So, this is not a common gender noun. So, this is the correct option.
d. enemy - This word is exactly the same in feminine and masculine form. It is a common gender noun. So, this is an incorrect option.
Hence option (c) is correct. 

Note: Convert each of the options to their feminine forms. Make sure to choose the word that does not remain the same when changed to its feminine form.