generic couple

All nouns are singular. h. have the category of gender, i.e. belong to one of 3 genders: masculine, feminine and neuter.

Nouns ending in -а, -я in the form im. p. units numbers are usually feminine (road, land, country, grandmother). The exception is words like uncle, slob, time.

If the initial form has the ending -o, -e, then the noun belongs to the middle gender (sea, good). Exception: domishko, domishche (nouns with words of subjective evaluation, formed from nouns of m. kind).

A small group of words belongs to the so-called common gender. These include nouns that do not have the singular form. numbers (pluralia tantum sled, gate, ink) are not distributed by genera.

generic couple- this is a paired opposition of nouns m. and f. genders that have the same lexical meaning, but differ in the meaning of the biological sex.

Pairs are distinguished:

1)​ suppletive tribal couples (man - woman, grandmother - grandfather, sheep - ram);

2)​ derivational(student - student, goose - goose, lion - lioness);

3)​ inflectional- having a common basis and differing in endings (spouse - wife, godfather - godfather, Alexander - Alexander).

If the words included in the generic pair are the names of animals, then the type of animals can be indicated both by the word m. of the genus (hares, lions, donkeys), and by the word f. genus (cats, sheep, goats).

In addition to the 3 main genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), nouns are also distinguished generic, by meaning they correspond to both male and female persons, in the context they realize the meaning of only one kind (our / our Sasha, terrible / terrible bore, Belykh knew / knew). In colloquial speech, you can hear: the deputy received visitors; master of sports set a new record; The turner did a good job.

In stylized speech, for the speech characterization of characters, when referring to a woman by profession, it is recommended to use neutral forms: comrade conductor, comrade cashier.

Descriptive expressions are used to indicate male correspondence to the words ballerina, typist ballet dancer, typewriter. A pair emerged in professional use nurse - nurse.

generic variants

Many nouns are used in SRY both in the form of m and in the form of f. kind.

- aviary - aviary (1 form is more common);

- giraffe - giraffe (1 form is more common);

- clip - clip (literary is 1 form);

- reprise - reprise (more often used form 2).

The category of gender is one of the universal categories of the grammatical structure of the Russian language: it covers the most important parts of speech (nouns, adjectives, partly pronouns and numerals, partly a verb). The gender category in each part of speech manifests itself in a peculiar way, and, at the same time, it brings these categories of words closer together. The category of gender is the main means of expressing the special grammatical semantics of a noun - the meaning of objectivity. The generic meaning is permanent morphological sign of a noun (nouns do not change by gender): book, table, window.

The category of gender was previously semantic: it denoted the category of sex, was closely related to the category of animation. In modern Russian, the category of gender covers both animate and inanimate nouns.

Depending on the gender, the nouns of the Russian language are divided into 5 types:

Masculine nouns (about 46%);

Feminine nouns (about 40%);

Neutral nouns (just over 10%);

Nouns of general gender;

Nouns that are outside the category of gender.

The grammatical meaning of the gender is based on the opposition of 3 grammatical meanings: male, female and middle kind. Each grammatical meaning corresponds not to a form, but to a word. Nouns can only have one gender. On this basis, the category of gender is defined as lexico-grammatical, which is expressed not by the forms of the same word, but by independent lexemes. The opposition of feminine and masculine nouns is most clearly expressed: it can be traced in all word forms of the singular ( book - table, books - table, book - table etc.). Less distinctly masculine and neuter nouns are contrasted (this opposition is expressed only in the original form - im.p.): table - window, table - window, table - window etc.

General genus stands out in the Russian language purely conditionally and is not a special generic meaning. Those nouns that can be combined with adjectives and verbs of both masculine and feminine gender have a common gender: round (th) orphan. The generic meaning is syntactic: expresses the ability of a noun to be determined by an adjective in various forms (masculine, feminine and neuter): new coat, new house, new book.

The category of gender is found in nouns only in the singular form. In the plural, the generic indicators have been erased, the generic meaning is unexpressed. Thus, those nouns that have only the plural form turn out to be outside the genus category.

In modern Russian, gender is a complex morphological and syntactic phenomenon.

The gender expression depends on the animate-inanimate nature of nouns:

1) In the group of animate nouns (in the names of persons and animals), the gender is motivated character It has semantic basis, i.e. coincides with the concept of gender. This is expressed in the fact that such nouns have gender pairs: a student is a student, a worker is a worker, a cat is a cat. But not all personal nouns and animal names have generic pairs. Their education is limited by phonetic, stylistic and other reasons. For example, the names of persons by profession (some scholars call them "bi-gender" or even common gender nouns) do not have gender pairs: geologist, philologist, dean, rector, director and etc.

These nouns can refer to males and females. These values ​​are found in the context. At the same time, in colloquial speech, forms of agreement in the feminine gender are used when designating a female person: our doctor got sick - our doctor got sick. In the literary language, such forms are considered non-normative: regardless of the gender of the person in question, these forms must agree in the masculine form, since these nouns are masculine and require formal agreement in the masculine gender.

These nouns should not be assigned to the common gender, because agreement with feminine forms in them is possible in colloquial speech only in the nominative case, and for nouns of the general gender, gender agreement occurs in all case forms:

doctor (m.r.) BUT bully

our (our) doctor our bully is our bully

our doctor, our bully's doctor - our bully

Some names of persons by profession have passed into the words of the general gender: judge, head, colleague.

Nouns naming animals do not always have generic pairs. Elephant - elephant(the generic pair is recorded in the dictionary). Nouns sparrow, fly designate both female and male; this meaning is revealed only in the context.

2) In the group of inanimate nouns, the gender category has an unmotivated, formal character (sun, moon, month). Thus, in most words of the Russian language, the category of gender is not associated with semantic differences; therefore, the generic meaning is of a formal, syntactic nature, i.e. affects the agreed forms of words that define nouns: new friend, new girlfriend, new society.

Loyalty is not only the prerogative of people, often animals demonstrate amazing examples of fidelity and devotion to their soul mate…

1. Gibbons

Gibbons are the closest relatives of a person who create couples for life. Their unions are unusually strong, and they exhibit low sexual dimorphism, meaning males and females are about the same size. This is proof of the fact that both sexes have approximately the same rights in relationships.

2. Swans

Swans form monogamous pairs that exist for many years, and in some cases for a lifetime. Their devotion is so well described in the literature that the image of two swimming swans with their necks curved in the shape of a heart has become an almost universal symbol of love.

3. Black vultures

Looking good is not a requirement for a committed relationship. Black vultures confirm this fact. They have been known to attack other vultures when they start to whore!

4. French bristletooth

It is unlikely that you will ever find a French bristletooth alone - these creatures live, travel and even hunt in pairs. These fish form monogamous bonds that often last as long as the partners live. Moreover, they act as a team, resolutely defending their territory from neighboring pairs.

5. Wolves

In folklore, wolves are portrayed as rogues and swindlers, but in reality, these animals lead a family life that is more faithful and pious than many human relationships. As a rule, packs consist of males and females and their offspring, which, in essence, makes wolf packs look like a nuclear family.

6. Albatrosses

An albatross can fly a long distance over the ocean, but despite such long journeys, this bird will always return to the same place - and to the same partner - when it is time to breed. Bonds between males and females are formed over several years and last a lifetime, held together by stupid but loving ritual dances.

7. Termites

In an ant colony, the queen mates with one or more males, stores gametes all her life, and the male ant dies shortly after mating. In contrast, male and female termites can mate for life, literally giving life to an entire kingdom.

8. Steppe voles

Although most rodents are promiscuous, prairie voles break that reputation by forming typically monogamous pairs that sometimes last a lifetime. Moreover, prairie voles are considered an animal model of monogamy in humans. They snuggle and groom each other, share nesting and raising responsibilities, and generally display a high level of supportive behaviour.

9 Bald Eagles

They are the national emblem of the United States, and when it comes to maintaining relationships, bald eagles rise much higher than the country they symbolize. As a rule, bald eagles create couples for life, except in cases of death or impotence of a partner.

10. Beavers

Believe it or not, beavers are extremely loyal animals. These rodents live, on average, for about 25 years. The main thing in the family is the beaver, so we can talk about a peculiar form of matriarchy. The mating season lasts from mid-January to the end of February.

Only one family lives in beaver huts. Until the female gives birth to offspring, the beaver father provides her with food. The born beavers live in the parental home for up to two years, and then they leave to build their own dwelling.

By the way, “tenants”, for example, a muskrat, often live in a hut with a pair of beavers. Neighbors arrange their own housing so as not to interfere with the owners.

11. Hyena dogs

These inhabitants of the African steppes and savannas are another example of monogamy in the animal kingdom. Being the closest relatives of red wolves, hyena-like dogs lead a lifestyle very similar to that of wolves.

The flock is headed by one dominant pair, regularly giving offspring. Moreover, the male and female in this pair are faithful to each other throughout their lives and often after the death of one of the partners lose their dominant position.

12. barn owls

These birds, found on the territory of Russia only in the Kaliningrad region, create a couple of times and for life. And, oddly enough, the male takes care of the development of relations.

The courtship period lasts about a year, and during the mating season, the male builds a nest in a place suitable for breeding offspring and actively invites the chosen one to become the mistress of the nest. The final chord is the presentation of specially caught prey as a gift.

While the female incubates the eggs and guards the hatched chicks, the male fully provides them with food - this is his main duty, which he seems to fulfill with pride.

13 Emperor Penguins

Another unusually faithful and caring lovers of the animal world. Finding a partner with them is a responsible and far from fast business. But the resulting couple has an amazing mutual understanding.

The male penguin fully shares the care of the offspring with the female: it helps to incubate the egg, brings food if the female cannot leave the cub. Follows the cub while the female feeds. If suddenly the female dies for some reason, the father penguin completely takes over the educational functions.

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Features of the expression of the semantic sign of gender (genus) in words denoting animals (zoonyms)

In modern literary language gender category words for animals ( zoonyms), is clearly expressed in grammatical opposition: hare_ jumped_ - hare jumped, white ram_ – white sheep etc. The paired opposition of masculine and feminine nouns is characterized, as a rule, by the presence of one lexical meaning. For nouns included in family couple, meaning biological sex is expressed in different ways: grammatical (morphological and syntactic), lexical and derivational .

In the circle of words denoting animals, the system of inflections belongs to the grammatical (morphological) means. Wed: good horse_; cowardly hare_; striped tiger_; A big bear_ etc. – zoonyms male. In zoonyms female inflection is attached to a stem that has a special word-formant - a productive suffix: -their-, -its- and others. Compare: cowardly hare, striped tigress, big dipper etc. The category of gender denotes the syntactic correlation of nouns with certain forms of adjectives, verbs and pronouns: A big bear slowly walked around the enclosure_ – A big bear slowly walked around the enclosure. In such cases, the harmonization forms are indicators: walked_ big(my_) bear_(m. R.) - went big(my) bear(female).

The word-formation way of expressing the category of the genus is very productive in words denoting animals (less often - birds). Wed generic couples"masculine (male) - feminine (female)": suffix - lion / lioness(alternation at the root e//Ø), tiger / tigress, bear / she-bear, wolf – she-wolf (k//h), rabbit / rabbit (k//h); dove_ / dove; goose_ / goose , truncation of the base - peacock_ / peacock etc.

The lexical way of expressing the category of gender is quite productive in zoonyms. Here, different lexemes retain a common lexical meaning and differ only in gender and gender: stallion – mare, ram – sheep, bull - cow etc. For example: wolf_ – she-wolf; donkey_ - donkey; tiger_ – tigress, lion – lioness, bear – she-bear, eagle_ - eagle; hare_ – hare; peacock - pava; cat Kitty; dove_ - dove; goose_ – goose; turkey_ – turkey etc. At gender differentiation feminine nouns - the names of female animals and birds - are derived from correlative masculine nouns. In modern Russian, in some cases there are parallel forms for male and female: goat_ - goat (goat), wolf_ - she-wolf (she-wolf), deer_ - deer.

In zoonyms, as well as in other animate nouns, deviations in gender are revealed. For example, in the words whale_(m. R.), shark(female) there are no indicators of sex differences. This feature is also manifested in nouns - zoonyms, without economic purpose. The gender differences of animals and birds do not always coincide with the division of nouns into masculine and feminine. Sometimes in the generic pars of zoonyms a word is used that acts as general name, For example goose - goose / goose. Most of the nouns denoting animals, birds, as well as fish, regardless of gender, either only for male or only to the female gender. Wed: badger, stork, seal, ostrich- masculine nouns squirrel, monkey, shark, dog- feminine nouns.

The lexical method conveys the belonging of a person or animal to one or another gender by means of lexical meaning the word itself (cf. in Russian: cow, bull, ram etc.). The syntactic way of expressing the genus category is implemented at the level phrases and suggestions. Here, the belonging of a person or animal to a particular gender is determined using special lexemes, which accurately indicate the relationship to a particular gender. These lexemes include the so-called words-signals - special names-designations of people and animals, indicating their gender and gender: the male and female; male (male) and female (female). In modern Russian, generic pairs are formed quite productively. This happens with multi-level language tools – grammatical, lexical and derivational.

The grammatical gender of nouns is expressed not only semantically, but also appears in inflection and word formation, That is why indicators are needed that express flexion system,

In fiction, Russian zoonyms are widely represented among nouns with diminutive suffixes, conveying evaluative semantics. Wed: cow – cow (-ear)- Well. R., bull – goby (-ok-)- m.r. etc. Data word-formation indicators in a certain way characterize words and but to a generic sign. For example:

How is it time to go to bed - now he is playing this song from her office in harmony: "You go, my cow, home". Well, now she is swimming into the bedroom (N. Leikin).

In the corpus of expressive-evaluative vocabulary, units formed by metaphorical transfer based on the name of the animal, serving for figurative (qualitative) characteristics of a person. Wed name of the animal (zoosemism) a fox and zoocharacteristics (zoomorphism) a fox- "cunning person". As regards the expression of gender differences in zoomorphisms, then the attitude towards gender in the modern Russian language is also determined at the level syntagmatics, and morphologically. Wed word fox_ in combination with the defined word: What a sly fox you are(in relation to face male sex) - What a smart fox you are(in relation to a female person). Let's look at examples.

The gender of nouns is a grammatical category, manifested in the ability to combine with specific forms of agreed words. The category of gender can be expressed semantically (that is, in meaning, only for animate nouns), grammatically and syntactically. Semantically, all nouns are masculine, feminine, and neuter. Words indicating animals and males are masculine (brother, grandfather, student, goose, rooster, horse); nouns that name animals and females (sister, grandmother, student, goose, chicken, horse) - to the feminine gender; animals and persons, regardless of gender (monster, monster, person (person), child) - to the middle gender.

The gender of nouns is grammatically expressed using the ending in the nominative case. This category of gender is characteristic of both animate and inanimate inflected nouns. In this case, in addition to the 3 main genera, a common genus is also distinguished. The differences between them are presented in the table:

masculine	Feminine	Neuter gender	Common gender
The ending is zero, the stem ends with a solid consonant or with -y (chair, hero); The ending is zero, the stem ends with a soft consonant, and in the genitive case the endings are -a, -ya (horse - horse, doctor - doctor, ivy - ivy).	The ending -а, -я (hand, earth), except for words naming males (servant, governor) and words with the suffix -in, showing a magnifying subjective assessment (domina, mostina); The ending is zero, the stem ends in a consonant, and in the genitive case the ending is -i (rye - rye, silence - silence, notebook - notebooks).	Ending -o, -e (grain, sea); Words child, monster, monster, face; 10 per -mya (tribe, time, name, banner, seed, stirrup, udder, crown, burden, flame); Some indeclinable inanimate nouns of foreign origin (taboo, taxi, jury, stew, interview, bra).	The ending -a, -ya, in words that name male and female persons (sleepy, grumpy, dirty, bully, stammerer, couch potato, orphan, licker, roar, ignoramus).

Syntactically, the gender of nouns can be determined by the form of the agreed word, which depends on the noun. So, participles, adjectives, consistent with masculine nouns, end in -y, -y, -oy (beautiful garden, singing boy, fighting soldier); with feminine nouns - on -aya, -ya (beautiful street, summer time); with neuter nouns - on -th, -her (beautiful sky, winter morning).

Also, the gender of nouns is determined using the ending of the predicate, expressed by the verb in the past tense in the subjunctive or indicative mood, or participle or Masculine - the predicate has a zero ending (the rain has passed, the plan has been completed); feminine - ending -a (work completed, the moon has risen); neuter - ending -o (letter received, the sun has risen).

There are also Most of them belong to the middle gender (depot, interview and all substantiated indeclinable nouns like "hello", "cheers", "yes", "tomorrow", "I don't want to"). Exceptions are the following cases:

Ha (hectare), coffee, poppies, penalties, suluguni, sirocco, ecu, tornado, shimmy, as well as the names of languages ​​(Bengali, Urdu, Suomi, Pashto, Hindi) - masculine;

Avenue, bere, salami, kohlrabi are feminine.

The gender of indeclinable nouns, such as newspapers, magazines, can be determined by the gender of the noun with the meaning of the generic concept (full-flowing Japanese (city) Tokyo, wide (river) Mississippi, published (newspaper) "Times"). The genus of abbreviations must be determined by the gender of the main word (MSU - masculine - Moscow State University; UN - feminine - United Nations; CIS - neuter - Commonwealth of Independent States). It is impossible to establish the gender of nouns that are not used in the singular, but only in the plural, since they do not have a gender category (trousers, pitchforks, pasta, mangers).