Rules of the Russian language gender of nouns. Grammatical norms of the modern Russian language

Genus - grammatical category, inherent different parts speeches in singular and consisting in the distribution of words into three classes, traditionally correlated with gender characteristics or their absence.

There are three kinds of nouns in Russian:

    Male (he) Masculine nouns in the singular nominative case have endings -and I, and zero (dad, uncle, knife, table, hawk).

    Female (she) Feminine nouns in the singular nominative case have the endings - and I, and zero (wife, nanny, night, glory, desert).

    Medium (it) Neutral nouns in the singular nominative case have endings -o, -e (swamp, gold, sun, lake, jam).

There is also a class of words generic , which, depending on the context, can be used in both masculine and feminine forms ( bore, sissy, crybaby, clever, greedy).

Definition of noun gender

To determine the feminine gender of inanimate nouns, the ending looks. For animate nouns, the defining feature is that they belong to female beings ( girl, cat). In order not to confuse feminine and masculine nouns at the end, you need to substitute the pronoun “she, mine” to check. For example, a song (she, mine).

The masculine gender of nouns is also determined by the end of the initial form. In order not to confuse the gender of nouns ending in soft sign, also substitute to check the pronoun "he, mine" ( stump, day).

Neutral nouns are determined by the endings of the initial form and by substituting the pronouns "it, mine" ( field, window). Please note that the group of inflected nouns ending in -my also belongs to the neuter gender ( tribe, seed etc.). There are almost no animate nouns among neuter gender nouns, their number is very small ( child, being, animal).

Among the nouns, there are several special groups, in which it is difficult to determine the genus. These include nouns of the general gender, as well as indeclinable and compound words.

Correlate the meanings of nouns of the general gender with their belonging to animate objects of the female or male sex. For example, slut girl(feminine), smart boy(masculine). Common nouns are those that denote the qualities of people ( glutton, ignoramus, crybaby) or the name of persons by position, profession, occupation ( architect Petrov - architect Petrov).

It must be taken into account that the gender of indeclinable nouns is associated with their animate / inanimate, specific / generic concept. For animate indeclinable nouns, determine gender by gender (monsieur, miss). Nouns that give names to animals, birds, are masculine (pony, kangaroo, cockatoo). The inanimate are usually neuter ( coat, muffler). Exceptions are words whose gender is determined by association with generic names: kohlrabi - cabbage(feminine), Hindi - language(masculine), etc.

In order to determine the gender of indeclinable proper nouns denoting geographical names, it is necessary to choose a generic concept ( lake, city, river, desert etc.). For example, city ​​of Rio de Janeiro(masculine) gobi desert(feminine).

The type of abbreviations is determined by the type of the leading word of the “deciphered” phrase: UN - United Nations, the leading word is “organization” (feminine).

If you liked it, share it with your friends:

See also:

We offer online tests:

Common nouns in Russian form a special group. Its definition is based on the grammatical uniqueness of words, which is based on the change of gender depending on the gender of the specified person.

Noun gender

In total, there are 4 genders for nouns in Russian gender, neuter, masculine and feminine. The last three are easy to determine by the end or semantic context. But what if the word can mean both male and female at once? Such a problem occurs with the words "bully", "cunning", "rogue", "unfortunate", "touchy", "sleep", "mediocrity", "subhuman", "hurry", "piggy", "bully", kind which may change.

Traditionally, it is considered that in the Russian language there are only three genders, they include masculine, feminine and neuter. To determine the gender of some common words it was customary to refer to the context. The names of professions, for example, are divided into parallel names: seller-saleswoman, teacher-teacher, student-schoolgirl, pilot-pilot, cook-cook, writer-writer, athlete-sportswoman, leader-leader. At the same time, in official documents for women, the masculine gender of these words is more often used. And there are examples of nouns of the general gender that are exclusively masculine: gynecologist, lawyer, linguist, philologist, correspondent, ambassador, academician, judge, toastmaster, surgeon, doctor, therapist, paramedic, master, courier, curator, appraiser, insurer, diplomat, politician, employee, specialist, worker. Now there is a tendency to attribute such words to the general gender, since they can be applied to both a man and a woman.

Controversy

Disputes about the recognition of the existence of a common genus have been going on since the 17th century. Then similar words were mentioned in the grammars of Zizania and Smotrytsky. Lomonosov singled out such nouns, pointing out their formal characteristics. Later researchers began to doubt their existence, defining such nouns as words with alternating gender, depending on what was meant.

So to this day, opinions are divided, some scientists consider nouns of the general gender in Russian to be separate homonyms. different kinds, while the other recognizes them in a separate group.

Surnames

Some indeclinable surnames can be added to the words of the general gender. foreign origin and Russian surnames ending in -о and -ых/х. Sagan, Depardieu, Renault, Rabelais, Dumas, Verdi, Maurois, Hugo, Defier, Michon, Tussauds, Picasso and others. All this among foreign surnames. Among the Slavic surnames of a common gender are often found: Tkachenko, Yurchenko, Nesterenko, Prokhorenko, Chernykh, Makarenko, Ravensky, Kucherenko, Dolgikh, Savchenko, Sedykh, Kutsykh and others.

Nationalities

The names of some nationalities are defined as words of a common gender. These include: Khanty, Mansi, Quechua, Komi, Gujarati, Hechzhe, Mari, Saami. The fact is that there are already "Mari" and "Mari", but the word "Mari" will be common to the entire nation or nationality.

According to the same principle, the names of breeds (Sivka, Okapi, Bulanka), as well as representatives of groups (vis-a-vis) are also included in the general genus.

Informal proper names

In addition to surnames, there is an interesting separate category of proper names related to the topic of the article. These are abbreviations for official names, with which there is often confusion during gender determination.

The name "Sasha" can belong to both Alexandra and Alexander, and the name "Valya" is called both the girl Valentina and the boy Valentina. Other such names include "Zhenya" from Evgeny and Evgenia, "Glory" from Yaroslav and Yaroslav, Vladislav and Vladislav, "Vasya" from Vasily and Vasilisa.

Evaluative, characterizing words

However, for the first time, the question of the existence of common nouns was raised because of evaluative words that affect the character or traits of a person. In direct speech, when using them, it can be more difficult to track the gender of the recipient of the remark, for example: "You're a badass!" Here the word "bully" can be addressed to both the female sex and the male. They also include the words of the general gender "bully", "swindler", "clever", "well done", "tramp", "rigid", "crippled", "stinker", "dylda", "malyavka", " disheveled."

In fact, there are a lot of such evaluative words. They can be either positive or negative value. At the same time, such words should not be confused with an assessment as a result of a metaphorical transfer, due to which they retain their original gender: crow, fox, rag, ulcer, beluga, goat, cow, deer, woodpecker, seal.

To words of general gender with negative and positive value include: bulldozer, prude, reptile, thug, baby, child, baby, quiet, invisible, poor fellow, couch potato, dirty, tall, sweet tooth, clean, greedy, miser, chatterer, beast, star, empty talker, mumbling, arrogant, rogue, klutzy, sly, asked, hard worker, hard worker, ignoramus, onlooker, drunkard, sweetheart, cudgel, imagined, redneck, slob, dormouse, sneak, whim, lying, kopusha, fidget, toastmaster, grunt, rake.

An example of usage is shown in fiction: “A little son came to his father” (Mayakovsky), “There lived an artist Tube, a musician Guslya and other kids: Toropyzhka, Grumpy, Silent, Donut, Confused, two brothers - Avoska and Neboska. And the most famous among them was a baby named Dunno ." (Nosov). Perhaps it is the works of Nikolai Nosov that will become a real collection of words with a common gender.

Least of all words in this group are occupied by neutral words, such as: right-handed, left-handed, colleague, namesake, orphan. The gender of such words is also common.

How to determine gender in a common gender?

The general gender of nouns in Russian is determined by the impossibility of a confident indication of the gender in the absence of pronouns and generic endings of adjectives. Words that can be classified as both masculine and feminine will be included in this group.

In order to determine the gender of a noun, accompanying words are most often used. demonstrative pronouns"this, this, that, that", adjective endings -th, -th / th. But if the name of the profession, position or rank is determined with the ending in the consonant "sergeant, doctor, doctor, director" and others, then the adjective can only be masculine, but the predicate is expressed feminine. "The doctor prescribed the drug" and "Attractive doctor came out of hospital", "The sergeant gave the order" and "The strict sergeant allowed me to rest", "This Marina Nikolaevna is an exemplary teacher!" and "Exemplary teacher spent public lesson"," The merry puppeteer held a performance "and" The old master sat down on the porch. "The predicate does not have to show the gender, then the task of determining the gender becomes more complicated:" The teacher conducts the lesson "," The specialist makes the decision ".

Variety of examples

Thanks to examples, it becomes clear that a wide variety of words can be found among common nouns, such as "daredevil", "bully", "bred", "forester", "old-timer", "tail", "six", "ignorant", "bore", "white-handed", "squishy", "loose", "messy", "smear". And other words. But they are all united by ambiguity in the definition of gender. Orphan, stylist, marketer, comrade, coordinator, curator, linguist, linguist, shirt, foreman, kid, judge, Kolobrodina, sly, razin, protégé, roar, sang, muff, bombed, dunce, stupid, toady, upstart, youngster, scarecrow, poor thing, cripple, charming, first-grader, senior-grader, eleven-year-old - all these nouns can be used in relation to both sexes.

The wide cultural distribution of common nouns in the Russian language is also interesting. For example, they were widely used in proverbs and sayings:

  1. A healthy man in food, but a cripple in work.
  2. For every dupe there is a deceiver.
  3. A reveler in his youth is modest in his old age.
  4. A drunkard is like a chicken, wherever he steps, he will peck there.

And in literature:

  1. "So a strange deal took place, after which the tramp and the millionaire parted, quite pleased with each other" (Greene).
  2. "A good girl, an orphan alone" (Bazhenov).
  3. “Your cleanliness, as the doctors say, is sterile” (Dubov).
  4. "Hills! - What? - She recoiled" (Shargunov).

There are many such examples in the literature. Determining the common gender from the words listed in the exercise is one of the tasks in the Russian language lesson that is easy to deal with.

In this lesson, you will learn what gender nouns are, practice determining the gender of nouns in the singular and in plural, observe the generic endings of nouns. Why is the genus constant sign nouns? What nouns cannot have gender? Are there common nouns? These questions will be answered in the lesson.

Introduction

Our ancestors, the ancient Slavs, once divided all things and creatures into three classes - masculine, feminine, and "real" (or "proper"). They deified many objects, endowing them with a feminine or masculine gender.

For example, the word child real kind among the ancient Slavs. Children have never had the right to own personal property. (V. Volina)

Do you know that there are languages ​​thatnouns have no gender. These are English, Finnish, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese and others.

There are languages ​​in which nouns have onlytwo kinds. It's French, Spanish, Italian.

There are languages ​​thatthere are many more genders than in our language.

For example, in many languages ​​of the peoples of the Caucasus and Africa there can be up to 40 genera. They are called "classes". (N. Betenkova)

Lesson topic: “The gender of nouns. Generic endings of nouns.

How to recognize the gender of nouns

Read the nouns. Which of them are men and which are women?

Grandfather, mother, sister, father, grandmother, son, brother, granddaughter, uncle, aunt, daughter, great-grandfather, man, woman.

In Russian, nouns are both masculine and feminine. What kind of words did we write in each column?

Grandpa

dad

brother

uncle

great grandfather

the male

These are masculine words, since you can substitute the word for them is he.

These are feminine words, since you can substitute the word for them she is.

What word can be substituted for these words?

Wheel, hollow, insect, towel - IT. These are neuter words.

Nouns are masculine, feminine and neuter. The gender of nouns is determined by substituting pronouns.

To nouns male you can substitute words he is mine.

To nouns female you can substitute words She is mine.

To nouns neuter you can substitute words it is mine.

Determine the gender of plural nouns

If it is necessary to determine the gender of a noun used in the plural, the word is first put in the singular, in the initial form. The initial form of a noun answers the questions who? what?

The cranes have flown

And the rooks are already far away.

Didn't have time to look back

Blizzards covered the snow. (Vl. Prikhodko)

Cranes- in plural, initial form - who? crane, he, m.r.

Rooks- in plural, initial form - who? rook, he, m.r.

Blizzards- in plural, beginning. form - what? blizzard, she, f.r.

Snow- in units, early form - what? snow, he, m.r.

Why gender is a constant feature of nouns

If a noun, for example, is feminine, can it be masculine or neuter?

Nouns are already born with masculine, feminine or neuter words. By birth, they do not change. That is why gender is a constant feature of nouns.

March.

sketched the sky

White drifts.

The sun burned on them

Doors and windows.(I. Zagraevskaya)

March- he, m.r.

Sky- it, cf.

snowdrifts- in plural, beginning. form - what? snowdrift, he, m.r.

The sun- it, cf.

doors- in plural, beginning. form - what? door, she, f.r.

windows- in plural, beginning. form - what? window, it, cf.

What nouns cannot have gender?

Eyes, curlers, blinds, mustaches, sleds, skis, skates, holidays.

eyes- what? eye, it, cf.

Curlers, blinds

Mustache- what? moustache, he, m.r.

Sled- cannot be used in the singular.

Skis- what? ski, she, female

Skates- what? horse, he, m.r.

holidays- cannot be used in the singular.

For nouns that do not have a singular form, gender cannot be determined.

For example, trousers, tongs, scissors, day, cream, sawdust, ink, hide and seek, chess, yeast, tongs, twilight.

General nouns

Interesting nouns: orphan, clever, crybaby.

good girl- who can be praised with this word, a boy or a girl?

Compare: He was an orphan. She was an orphan.

These nouns, depending on the specific circumstances, can act as masculine nouns. (He was so smart!), then as feminine nouns(She was so smart!)

These are nouns general kind.

Let's pick up more common nouns: the ringleader, fidget, quiet, why, smarty, sweet tooth.

Generic endings for nouns

What endings can masculine, feminine and neuter nouns have?

dad a

Slav a

uncle I

You I

daughter a

natures a

Dash a

tet I

cf.

movements e

fun e

linen yo

Borodin about

lace about

cloth about

Finish the diagram: write the endings.

For nouns male often endings -a, -i, and zero.

For nouns feminine endings -а, -я and zero.

For nouns neuter endings -o, -e, -e.

(Some nouns ending -i, For example, dit I, flame I, time I ).

What is common in the composition of words - masculine, feminine and neuter nouns

Nouns masculine and feminine may have the same endings -a, -i, zero.

Is it possible to determine the gender of nouns only by the end?

We solve the spelling problem at the end of nouns

Jam_, rainbow_, cave_, swamp_, glade_, knee_, wheel_, patronymic_, lake_.

Knowing the gender of a noun, substituting words it, she, you can solve the spelling problem at the end, correctly write the letter of an unstressed vowel.

Jam_ heό, ending -o,

rainbow_ oná, ending -а,

cave_ oná, ending -а,

swamps_ heό, ending -o,

glade_ oná, ending -а,

knee_, wheel_, patronymic_, lake_ onό, ending -о.

Jam about, rainbows a, caves a, swamps about, polyan a, knee about, wheel about, patronymic about, lakes about.

How are borrowed words distributed by gender?

In Russian, the word sun- neuter.

AT German word sun- feminine ("di zonne").

The English just say "san" ( sun), without attributing this noun to any of the existing genders.

French sun- masculine ("le sole").

Spanish for "el sol" sun- male.

How are words distributed by gender that came from other languages, that is borrowed words?

In russian language borrowed words retain the gender they had in the foreign language.

This explains the fact that in modern Russian the words piano, coffee, kangaroo are masculine;

somersault, chassis, dominoes- to the middle gender, and the word shawl- to the feminine.

Nouns borrowed from languages ​​in which there is no gender receive it in Russian: basketball, football(from English) - masculine.

We are looking for nouns, determine their gender

Check yourself. Find nouns, determine their gender.

Who wrote what?

Once upon a time there was no paper. The first manuscripts appeared on clay tablets. In the East, paper was replaced by ivory. Animal skin was often used for writing - parchment. AT Ancient Russia wrote on birch bark, birch bark.

paper- paper, oil,

manuscripts- manuscript, female,

on the tablets- plate, female,

in the east- east, m.r.,

paper- paper, oil,

bone- female,

for writing- letter, cf.,

skin- leather, female,

animals- animal, cf.,

parchment- m.r.,

in Russia - Rus, female,

on the bark- bark, female,

birch bark- birch bark - zh.r.

Conclusion

I will remember the feminine

And I'll say, "She's mine."

And remember the masculine gender

And again I will say: "He is mine."

The neuter gender is mine!

This is your rule!(E. Semyonova)

In the lesson, you learned that if you need to determine the gender of a noun used in the plural, the word is first put in the singular, in the initial form.

Nouns do not change by gender.

For nouns that do not have a singular form, gender cannot be determined.

Bibliography

  1. M.S. Soloveichik, N. S. Kuzmenko "To the secrets of our language" Russian language: Textbook. Grade 3: in 2 parts. - Smolensk: Association XXI century, 2010.
  2. M.S. Soloveichik, N. S. Kuzmenko "To the secrets of our language" Russian language: Workbook. Grade 3: in 3 parts. - Smolensk: Association XXI century, 2010.
  3. T. V. Koreshkova Test tasks In Russian. Grade 3: in 2 parts. - Smolensk: Association XXI century, 2011.
  4. T. V. Koreshkova Practice! Notebook for independent work in Russian for grade 3: in 2 parts. - Smolensk: Association XXI century, 2011.
  5. L.V. Mashevskaya, L.V. Danbitskaya Creative tasks in the Russian language. - St. Petersburg: KARO, 2003.
  6. G.T. Diachkova Olympiad tasks in Russian. 3-4 classes. - Volgograd: Teacher, 2008.

Homework

  1. Match these nouns with nouns that are close in meaning. Specify genus.

    Ring - ...

    Strengthening - ...

    Border - …

    Gulf - ...

    Luck - …

    The curtain - …

    Duty - …

    Silence - ...
    Words for reference: heat, fortress, bay, success, silence, duty, ring, darkness, curtain, boundary.

  2. Read the text. Determine the gender of nouns.

    Pretender.

    A large gorilla lives in the Prague Zoo. One morning the monkey suddenly fell ill. She refused food, moaned. The doctor decided that the animal had overeaten. The gorilla was given medicine and left. The monkey recovered instantly. During the inspection, she pulled the key out of the caretaker's pocket. She opened the cage with them and began to walk around the zoo.

  3. Read the text. Find nouns, write them down in 3 columns:

    m. r., w. R. , cf. R.

    Petya is dreaming.

    If soap

    came

    In the morning to my bed

    And I would have washed myself -

    It would be nice!

    If, say,

    Wizard

    Gave me a textbook

    So that he would

    I myself could

    Answer any lesson...

    If I had a pen in addition,

    To solve the problem,

    Write any dictation ... (B. Zakhoder)

  1. Internet portal Oldskola1.narod.ru ().
  2. Internet portal School-collection.edu.ru ().
  3. Internet portal Gramota.ru ().
  4. Internet portal Russisch-fuer-kinder.de ().

Morphological norms, which govern the determination of the gender of nouns, contains a whole set of rules that can be divided into five sections for ease of classification and study.

1. Determining the gender of inflected nouns. This is usually the easiest case for determining the gender of a noun, especially if the noun denotes a person whose gender is known to everyone: grandmother (female) - grandfather (m.). As for determining the gender of inanimate nouns and animal names, here it is customary to look at the ending: hammer - m.r., fence [a] - f.r., words [o] - s.r., donkey - m.r., mouse [b] - f.r.

Despite the relative simplicity of this rule, there are a certain number of exceptions, which we will discuss below.

  • There is whole line inanimate nouns that have changed gender from feminine to masculine over time. for example, just a couple of centuries ago, the following nouns were all feminine: shoe, hospital, rail, jackboot, bracelet, poplar, report card.
  • Along with this, there is an absolutely mirror phenomenon - nouns that previously belonged to the masculine gender, but now they all require an adjective that answers the question "what?". Such nouns are cuff, citadel, dachshund, attic.
  • There are a number of words that are used equally in both masculine and feminine: epaulet - epaulet, pilaster - pilaster, psalter - psalter, spasm - spasm, muskrat and desman, burr - burr, dahlia - dahlia, aviary - aviary, banknote - banknote, padespan - padespan, plane tree - plane tree, pancakes - pancake. Despite the fact that often one of the forms of these nouns is considered obsolete, but using them is not a mistake.
  • Genus of some special nouns causes difficulties, so we will simply list them with an indication of the genus. So, feminine nouns: gaiter, sneaker, boot, sandal, slipper, slipper, shoe, shoe, reserved seat, sheet, pancake, parcel post, mezzanine, veil, dumbbell, rosin, corn, flannel, fathom. Masculine nouns: shampoo, queen, truffle, tulle, calico, piano, roofing felt, guipure, curtain. neuter nouns: tentacle, scarecrow, monisto, bast, jam.

2. Determining the gender of indeclinable nouns. A number of rules also apply to this type of noun, each of which has its own exceptions:

  • Most of indeclinable inanimate nouns has a neuter gender, regardless of the final vowel or its complete absence: jury, highway, interview, depot.
  • Some of the indeclinable inanimate nouns do have a different gender, which refers to old form word or generic concept: avenue(street - female), coffee(coffee or drink - m.r.), sirocco(wind - m.r.), salami(sausage - zh.r.), penalty(blow - m.r.), kohlrabi(cabbage - female).
  • There are a number of nouns whose gender depends on the person they denote: dandy - m.r., lady - f.r.
  • Nouns denoting the name of a profession are usually masculine: attaché, entertainer. But if the profession refers to a female person, then the noun also changes gender to female: elderly doctor Valentina Pavlovna.
  • The same applies to the indeclinable names of birds and animals. By default, they are masculine: kiwi, hummingbird. But if we are talking about a female, the noun also changes gender: The female chimpanzee hopped merrily around the cage. Exceptions are nouns "iwashi" and "tsetse", which belong to the feminine gender (herring and fly).

3. Definition of abbreviation type. In the case of abbreviations, it usually plays a role to which gender the main word in the abbreviated phrase belongs: RF ( the Russian Federation), UN (United Nations Organization), RIA (Russian information Agency) . Exception: TASS (m.r.) - Telegraph Agency Soviet Union . If the abbreviation has become a common noun and is inclined, then the general noun gender rules: university - m.r.

4. Determining the gender of indeclinable proper nouns. There is also a method for determining the genus by common noun, which is a generic concept: Sochi (city), Mississippi (river), Everest (mountain).

5. Determining the gender of compound nouns. When determining the gender of such words, one should take as a basis the word that expresses the broader meaning of the noun: butterfly- admiral, telephone-machine, sofa-bed. However, if, as in the case of a noun sofa bed, both concepts are equivalent, then we determine the genus by the first word: armchair-bed, Cafe-restaurant.

Neuter gender

The position of the middle gender in modern Russian is peculiar. The means of expression of the neuter gender are relatively poor. The composition of the class of words of the middle gender gradually narrowed and continues to narrow. For example, diminutive, affectionate and derogatory words and forms in -ko (Demidko), -ya (Vanya, tel), in -lo (ate) and other words related

to people and animals, moved into the class of words of the masculine or general

(male-female) gender. The category of the person is not combined with the middle gender. The most abstract idea of ​​the category of non-person (being, deity) is combined with the neuter gender. Nouns of the neuter gender are only metaphorical, either in the function of the predicate, or as the general characteristics(monster, monster, monster) can be applied to male or female living beings. The unstable, intermediate position of the middle gender also affects the system of declension of nouns. In the singular, neuter words change as masculine forms. The coincidence of the nominative and accusative cases in one form also emphasizes the proximity of the categories of the neuter gender to the group of inanimate masculine nouns. The middle gender acts as an abstract form of impersonal objectivity.

In the plural, the forms of the neuter gender fluctuate between different types declensions, having completely lost their grammatical individuality (ears - ears; deeds - deeds; fields - fields and seas - seas, mirrors - mirrors; windows - windows). With the exception of the form of the nominative-accusative case with the accent on the ending -a, they are mostly closer to the feminine declension.

The peculiar impersonality, abstract or fictitious objectivity of the neuter form is manifested, first of all, in the fact that other parts of speech used in the meaning of a noun belong to the class of words of the neuter gender.

The forms of the middle gender in borrowed nouns also differ in peculiar features. There are no productive suffixes of the middle gender, which would designate an object without any special connotation at all, in modern Russian. The endings -o, -e, as a sign of the neuter gender, are not directly attached to the stem. The group of non-suffix words of the middle gender with the ending -o, -e is replenished only with borrowings from other languages. Meanwhile, these borrowed words in -o, -e (bureau, coat, coffee) from an etymological point of view have only an outward resemblance to the words of the middle gender. After all, in them the final -o, -e usually refer to the base, and are not endings. The neuter gender becomes a storehouse for borrowed words that, in their sound or morphological appearance, do not correspond to the typical forms of Russian nouns.

The extinction of the neuter gender in the category of nouns is in line with common process semantic depersonalization and devastation of neuter forms in modern Russian. From the content category, the neuter gender in certain types of words and forms is relegated to the role of a packaging means.

This is expressed:

1) that impersonal forms verbs in the past tense coincide with the neuter form;

2) in the fact that the impersonal forms of the category of state (arising from participles of the passive voice and from adjectives and adverbs) coincide with the corresponding forms of the middle gender: “She is stuffy, bored, annoying ... so annoying that she even wants to cry, but why again unknown. “She was ashamed, and bitter, and it hurt her”;

3) in the fact that with impersonal words there can be pronominal particles of the neuter gender this, it (that). “I didn’t ask her about any details, and so it turned out that there was no need to worry”;

4) the fact that one of the most productive categories of adverbs in the Russian language ends in -o, -e, i.e., in morphemes denoting the neuter form in the classes of nouns and adjectives, is not without significance, although, as is known, the category of gender (as well as case and number) is completely alien to the dialect. "May be, a heart mothers sensed that together with a newborn baby appeared into the world dark, inexhaustible grief that hung over the cradle to accompany new life down to the grave."

« Family in which a blind boy was born, It was few».

“At the time when in the village house appeared and became grow new creature, in uncle Maxim's short-cropped hair, silver gray was already breaking through.

Have questions?

Report a typo

Text to be sent to our editors: