The noun is one of the most commonly used parts of speech. Moreover, such words have a gender, of which there are three in Russian: male (dog, house, bow, father), female (goat, cat, room, pear) or middle (village, sky, jam, distance). The gender category refers to the number of permanent attributes of a given part of speech. However, there are a number of exceptions. We offer you to get acquainted with examples of general nouns.
What is gender
The genus category can be characterized using the following characteristics:
- This is a constant sign. So, if the number and case can change (for example, the words “cat” - singular and “cats” - plural), then the genus always remains the same. No matter how many cats there is, this word is always feminine.
- In the plural of nouns, this category is not expressed. In this case, if necessary, the definition of the word should be put in units. h
- Words that are not used in the singular (scissors, stretchers) have no gender.
Most often, the category is expressed by grammatically defined endings.
How to determine
The easiest way to determine gender is by substituting pronouns. This is taught at school. For instance:
- A table, a house, a wardrobe, a chair - he is mine.
- Dog, door, skirt, geranium - she's mine.
- Oil, milk, plant, composition - it is mine.
Sometimes, over time, a word can change its gender, for example, the word “swan” used to be feminine, but now masculine.
Common gender
We will get acquainted with examples of general nouns and consider what it is. There are a number of words that can be used in relation to a creature of any gender:
- Slut.
- Muddler.
- Crybaby.
- Sneak.
- Quiet.
- A bore.
From the context, it becomes clear what kind of speech it is. For instance:
- Tanya was a terrible crybaby and always solved the problem with tears.
- Egor was a terrible crybaby and always solved the problem with tears.
The word "crybaby" - this is an example of a general noun.
Examples
There are a lot of words that fit the category of "general nouns". Here are some examples of phrases:
- Poor dog - poor Olga.
- Know-it-all Maxim - know-it-all Katerina.
- Podliza (boy, girl).
- Dirty (Vanya, Anya).
- Glutton (cat, dog).
These are general words. Most often, they have a pronounced emotional coloring, express the speaker's attitude to the subject described by him.
Here are examples of sentences with general nouns:
- Tiny son constantly asked many questions.
- Why-thing Julia often perplexed her parents.
- Coot Cyril so often fell into ridiculous situations that laugh at him already tired.
- This man went down in history as a regicide.
It can be seen from the examples that, in their form, these words resemble feminine nouns, the endings are indicated by a / z, however, when combined, it is necessary to consider what kind of words they depend on.
First example
Hard worker Petrov received the award. The word of the general kind "hard worker" characterizes a man, therefore also refers to noun. male. An agreed definition should choose the appropriate: "conscientious, executive hard worker."
Another example
Self-taught Aksenova achieved significant success in research. Here, "self-taught" describes a woman, so the word should be attributed to the female gender, the agreed definition will be: "talented, intelligent, efficient self-taught."
Examples from texts
Here are examples of general nouns from Krylov’s work “Elephant and Pug”:
So crowds of onlookers followed the Elephant.
I can get into big bullies.
Here are two words of a general kind - "onlooker", "bully"; both first declensions, plural.
In the fable "Cat and Cook" there is another example of a noun of a general gender:
Oh you glutton! oh villain! -
Here the cook reproaches Vaska.
Here the word “glutton” of a general kind is used.
Another example is from the fable “The Mirror and the Monkey”:
Of my gossips, there are five or six of them.
And again, before us is an example of a general noun.
How to avoid a mistake
Often without context, it becomes difficult to identify which gender a general noun refers to. For example:
- Well, you and upstart!
- You are a loner, you do not know how to work in a team.
Words mean a qualitative characteristic of a person, but do not give an indication of his gender. If the examples are supplemented with supporting words, the meaning will become clear:
- Well, you upstart, Misha!
- Katya, you are a loner, you do not know how to work in a team.
Thanks to support words, we understand that in the first example the word “upstart” refers to a boy, therefore it is a masculine noun, and in the second to a girl, therefore his gender is female.
Generic words should be attributed to the masculine gender when they denote the male person, or to the feminine when they denote the female face.
Common mistake
Often, schoolchildren can mistakenly accept lexical units of generic words that designate professions:
- doctor;
- Professor;
- geologist;
- archaeologist;
- librarian;
- paleontologist;
- surgeon.
They can apply to both men and women, but their gender is always male: Dr. Ivanova, surgeon Smirnova. If necessary, coordinate the adjective with them, remember that they are combined with the masculine form: the talented surgeon Smirnov. The combination of "talented surgeon Smirnov" would be a mistake.
Most of this vocabulary does not have a parallel feminine form, but sometimes colloquial terms like “Ivanov’s doctor”, “Savinov’s librarian” may slip in colloquial speech, and are unacceptable in literary speech.
There are also feminine words in Russian that mean the names of persons by profession: typist, ballerina. If it is necessary to identify a male person, descriptive turns come to the rescue: a ballet dancer.
Proper names
As examples of nouns of a general kind, one can also cite proper names - unshakable surnames of both Russian and foreign origin: Sidorenko, Vidnykh, Grodas.
Diminutive forms, which can refer to people of both sexes: Sasha, Shurochka, as well as abbreviated forms of names: Valya, Sasha, have a common gender.
Gender groups
Based on the foregoing material, three groups of names of a general kind can be distinguished:
- Common nouns in their form resembling feminine words, as indicated by the ending - a / z: an orphan, a poor couple, a rogue, a sweet tooth. Most often they have a bright emotional color.
- Native abbreviations related to both boys and girls: Sanya, Valya, Zhenya.
- Unswerving surnames: Savchenko, Dumas, Sedykh.
General nouns are important to use correctly in speech, but most often native speakers understand the meaning of the statement thanks to supportive words or based on the general meaning of the dialogue.