+Hints for Oral Instruction+.—The lion was caged. The lioness was caged. In the first sentence, something was said about a male lion; and in the second, something was said about a female lion. Modifications of the noun to denote the sex of the object, we call +Gender+. Knowing the sex of the object, you know the gender of its name. The word lion, denoting a male animal, is in the +Masculine Gender;+ and lioness, denoting a female lion, is in the +Feminine Gender+.

The names of things without sex are in the +Neuter Gender+.

Such words as cousin, child, friend, neighbor, may be either masculine or feminine.

+DEFINITIONS.

Gender is that modification of a noun or pronoun which denotes sex.

The Masculine Gender denotes the male sex.

The Feminine Gender denotes the female sex.

The Neuter Gender denotes want of sex+.

The masculine is distinguished from the feminine in three ways:—

1st. By a difference in the ending of the nouns.

2d. By different words in the compound names.

3d. By words wholly or radically different.

Arrange the following pairs in separate columns with reference to these ways.

Abbot, abbess; actor, actress; Francis, Frances; Jesse, Jessie; bachelor, maid; beau, belle; monk, nun; gander, goose; administrator, administratrix; baron, baroness; count, countess; czar, czarina; don, donna; boy, girl; drake, duck; lord, lady; nephew, niece; landlord, landlady; gentleman, gentlewoman; peacock, peahen; duke, duchess; hero, heroine; host, hostess; Jew, Jewess; man-servant, maid-servant; sir, madam; wizard, witch; marquis, marchioness; widow, widower; heir, heiress; Paul, Pauline; Augustus, Augusta.

REVIEW QUESTIONS.

What new way of varying the meaning of words is introduced in Lesson 78? Illustrate. What are modifications of the parts of speech? What is number? How many numbers are there? Name and define each. Give the rule for forming the plural of nouns. Illustrate the variations of this rule. What is gender? How many genders are there? Name and define each. In how many ways are the genders distinguished? Illustrate.