Question

Replace the masculine noun with its feminine counterpart, in the following sentence.
It was quite hard to tame the ox on that evening.
a. Bullock
b. Mare
c. Cow
d. Vixen

Answer 1

Hint: Cattle generally indicate a pair of oxen or a pair of cows.

Complete step-by-step answer:

Every noun has a gender. There are three types of genders in the English Language. They are Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter. If a person or animal is male, his gender is masculine. Similarly, if a person or animal is female, her gender is feminine. Objects are neither masculine nor feminine. The gender of such objects is neuter.
 Let us look at some examples.
 She goes to school.
Here, she stands for a girl. Female persons are feminine in gender.
Matt plays hockey well.
Here, Matt is a boy. Male persons are masculine in gender.
When it comes to nouns like persons and animals, they can be of either gender. As per the instructions given, we can change a masculine noun into a feminine noun and vice versa. One of the methods of making a masculine noun feminine is by adding the suffix “ess” at its end.
E.g. Lion- lioness;
        Tiger – tigress.

Some animals have their specific female counterparts. They cannot be formed by changing the masculine form of the word. E.g. The feminine of drake is duck while the feminine of gander is a goose.
Let us consider the question given above. We have to find out the feminine form of the animal ox. The feminine form of an ox is a cow. Therefore, the option ‘c’ is the correct answer.

Note: Option ‘a’ bullock is a synonym for ox. Option ‘b’ mare is the feminine of the horse. Option ‘d’ vixen is the feminine of a fox.