What does common gender mean. List of common nouns

Balda, poor fellow, white-handed, beast, chatterbox, tramp, beech, tall, tycoon, lying, know-it-all, squeezed, drank, upstart, bouncer, unfortunate, thug, dirty, gulena, playboy, businessman, dobrya, dear, goner, cudgel, fool, dumbass, bighead, fidget, greedy, victim, bully, ringleader, bully, arrogant, stutterer, slobber, splinter, bore, sang, tucked in, healthy, crammed, crippled, capricious, kopush, grimacing, bloodsucker, biter, reveler, gourmet, liar, couch potato, whacker, muff, baby, good fellow, ignorant, ignorant, ignoramus, touchy, half-educated, fidget, slob, ripped off, glutton, goody, scribbler, crybaby, beggar, mean, beggar, fussy, sticky, molested, swindler, rogue, dupe, rogue, idler, drunkard, hard worker, slacker, confusion, disheveled, deadhead, self-taught, holy man, handsome man, orphan, miser, sweet tooth, sweet tooth, dormouse, daredevil, dude, scary, chatterer, namesake, grouse, quiet, hasty, stupid, clever, ugly, hypocrite, hap ugh, cunning, sharomyga, rogue, sneak.

Gender of indeclinable nouns

Indeclinable nouns reveal their gender syntactically, in combination with explanatory words: military attaché, short interview.

In modern literary language, inflected nouns make up about 350 common nouns, excluding a large group of indeclinable proper names, geographical names and compound words.

The gender of indeclinable nouns is connected with the semantics of the word. First of all, animate and inanimate nouns are distinguished. In animate nouns, the gender is determined by the biological sex of the named persons or animals. Words that call males by profession, social status, character traits, etc., are masculine nouns: attache, bourgeois, impresario, caballero, entertainer, croupier, curé, effendi, yankee.

The names of female persons refer to the feminine gender: ingenue, lady, madam, mademoiselle, milady, miss, mrs, madam, frau, emancipe.

Some nouns that matter generic, can be used both in relation to a man and in relation to a woman: counterpart, incognito, protégé, ultra and etc.

Words denoting animals are qualified as masculine words in dictionaries: dingo, zebu, kiwi-kiwi, hummingbird, kangaroo, cockatoo, marabou, pony, flamingo, chimpanzee. The exception is the names of the African fly- tsetse(female) and game fish iwashi(female).

In the text or in oral speech, when a female animal is called, for all nouns that are recommended as masculine words, agreement can also go in the feminine gender: kangaroo feeding a baby, The little chimpanzee was named Betsy.

The names of inanimate objects are most often neuter nouns. Deviations from this general rule and fluctuations in the generic design are observed primarily in cases where indeclinable words are closely related to semantically close generalizing words. Sometimes in these cases the gender of the generalizing word wins, although in general during the 19th-20th centuries. there is a tendency to eliminate hesitation in favor of variants of the middle gender.

In the modern literary language, the following fluctuations and deviations from the norm are registered: avenue(zh.r. and sr.r.), auto(cf. and m.r.), whiskey(cf. and f.r., rarely - m.r.), Jersey(cf. and m.r.).

The list of nouns, in the generic affiliation of which there are fluctuations:

Bolero (m.s. and s.r.), wildebeest (m.s. and f.s.), dingo (m.s. and f.s.), jersey (m.s. and s.s. ), incognito (m.s. and m.s. more often), coffee (m.s. and s.s. - colloquial), tropical tree mango (m.s. and s.s.), mezzo -soprano (s.p. and j.p. - colloquial), pas de deux “type of pair dance” (s.p. and m.p.), pas de trois “type of ballet dance for three ”(s.r. and m.r.), rally (m.r. and sr.r.), salami (f.r.), soprano (s.r. and m.r.).

The noun is one of the most frequently 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, cooking, distance). The gender category refers to the number of constant features of a given part of speech. However, there are a number of exceptions. We offer you to get acquainted with examples of common nouns.

What is a genus

This is a permanent sign. So, if the number and case can change (for example, the words “cat” - singular and “cats” - plural), then the gender always remains the same. No matter how many cats we are talking about, this word is always feminine.
In plural nouns do not have this category. In this case, if a definition is necessary, the word should be put in singular. h.
Words that are not used in the singular (scissors, stretcher) have no gender.

How to determine

The easiest way to determine gender is by substituting pronouns. This is taught in school. For example:

Table, house, closet, chair - he is mine.
Dog, door, skirt, geranium - she's mine.
Butter, milk, plant, composition - it's mine.

Sometimes, over time, a word can change its gender, for example, the word "swan" was previously feminine, but now it is masculine.

Common gender

Let's get acquainted with examples of common nouns and consider what it is. There are a number of words that can be used in relation to a being of any gender:

Slut.
Muddler.
Crybaby.
Yabed.
Quiet.
Nerd.

From the context it becomes clear what kind in question. For example:

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" is an example of a common noun.

Examples

There are a lot of words that fit into the category of "general nouns". Here are some examples of phrases:

Poor dog - poor Olga.
All-knowing Maxim - all-knowing Katerina.
Podliza (boy, girl).
Dirty (Vanya, Anya).
Glutton (cat, dog).

These are common words. Most often they have a pronounced emotional coloring, express the attitude of the speaker to the subject described by him.

Here are examples of sentences with common nouns:

The baby son constantly asked a lot of questions.
Pochemuchka Julia often baffled her parents.
Simpleton Kirill got into ridiculous situations so often that they were already tired of laughing at him.
This man went down in history as a regicide.

It can be seen from the examples that in their form such words resemble feminine nouns, this is indicated by the endings -a / ya, however, when combined, it is necessary to take into account what kind of word they depend on.

First example

Hard worker Petrov received the award. The word of the general gender "hard worker" characterizes a man, therefore it also applies to noun. male. The agreed definition should be chosen appropriate: "conscientious, executive hard worker."

Another example

Self-taught Aksenova has achieved significant success in scientific activity. Here "self-taught" describes a woman, so the word should be assigned to the feminine gender, the agreed definition would be: "talented, intelligent, hard-working self-taught."

Examples from texts

Here are examples of nouns of the general gender from Krylov's work "Elephant and Pug":

So crowds of onlookers followed the Elephant.
I can get into big trouble.

There are two words of the general gender here - "onlooker", "bully"; both first declension, plural.

In the fable "The Cat and the Cook" there is another example of a generic noun:

Oh you glutton! ah villain! -
Here the cook reproaches Vaska.

The word "glutton" of the general gender is used here.

Another example is from the Mirror and the Monkey fable:

Of my gossips, there are five or six such wimps.

And again we have an example of a generic noun.

How not to make a mistake

Often, without context, it becomes difficult to identify the gender of a common noun. For instance:

Well, you are an upstart!
You are a loner, you do not know how to work in a team.

words mean qualitative characteristic person, but do not give an indication of his gender. If we supplement the examples with supporting words, the meaning will become clear:

Well, you're an upstart, Misha!
Katya, you are a loner, you do not know how to work in a team.

Thanks to the supporting 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 its gender is feminine.

Words of the general gender should be assigned to the masculine gender when they designate a male person, or to the feminine when they designate a female person.

Common Mistake

Often, schoolchildren can mistakenly take lexical units that denote professions as nouns of a common gender:

doctor;
Professor;
geologist;
archaeologist;
librarian;
paleontologist;
surgeon.

They can refer to both men and women, but their gender is always male: Dr. Ivanova, surgeon Smirnova. If it is necessary to coordinate the adjective with them, one should remember that they are combined with the masculine form: the talented surgeon Smirnova. The combination "talented surgeon Smirnova" would be a mistake.

Most of this vocabulary does not have a parallel feminine form, but sometimes in colloquial speech turns like “doctor Ivanov”, “librarian Savinova” can slip through, which are unacceptable in literary speech.

There are also feminine words in Russian, meaning the name of persons by profession: typist, ballerina. If it is necessary to designate a male person, descriptive phrases come to the rescue: ballet dancer.

proper names

As examples of nouns of a common gender, one can also cite proper names - indeclinable surnames of both Russian and foreign origin: Sidorenko, Vidnykh, Grodas.

Diminutive forms that can refer to people of both sexes also have a common gender: Sashenka, Shurochka, as well as abbreviated forms of names: Valya, Sasha.

Common noun groups

Based on the above material, three groups of general gender names can be distinguished:

Common nouns, in their form resembling feminine words, as indicated by the ending -a / ya: orphan, clumsy, rogue, sweet tooth. Most often they have a bright emotional coloring.
Diminutive proper names, referring to both boys and girls: Sanya, Valya, Zhenya.
Indeclinable surnames: Savchenko, Dumas, Sedykh.

It is important to use common nouns correctly in speech, but most often native speakers understand the meaning of the statement thanks to the supporting words or based on the general meaning of the dialogue.

I have compiled a list of Russian words of the common gender, which I remember. These words (nouns ending on -a/-ya) can denote both masculine and feminine human beings. Your additions and corrections are welcome!

I undertook to remember Russian words of a common gender. These are nouns with the endings -a (ya), which serve as the names of both male and female persons (little crybaby - little crybaby, such a wretch - such a wretch). As a rule, these words have an expressive connotation (often disapproving) and are used in colloquial speech.

I have such a list. To help learners of Russian as a foreign language (RFL), I have accompanied them with definitions.

Additions and corrections are welcome! When borrowing material, please provide a link.

white hand- who is not accustomed to dirty work
big man- a tall man (see tall man)
thief- notorious, inveterate thief
vermin- who harms everyone, an unfriendly, unpleasant type (expletive)
reptile – ugly person(expletive)
upstart- a person who intervenes first before others in something, in order to earn approval, to curry favor with someone; a person who has not rightfully taken some sth. position, position
dirty- who does not keep himself or his house clean (cf. clean)
fool- fool
tall- a tall, lanky person
fidget- a mobile, restless person (more often about women, approvingly)
greedy (greedy-beef)- greedy person
infection- scoundrel, scoundrel (expletive word)
bully, bully- a pugnacious person who offends the weak
ringleader– active, enterprising person, the soul of the company
arrogant- who has a high opinion of himself, considers himself the smartest
sleeping- dormouse (see)
stutterer- a person who stutters (neutral word)
nerd- boring, boring person
sang- a singer who starts singing, picked up by the choir; (trans.) initiator, initiator
vicious- an angry person or someone who is constantly angry at everyone
cripple- a person who has lost any part of the body or the ability to own it, crippled, disabled (neutral word)
colleague- workmate, person of the same profession (neutral word)
antics- who grimace, behave pretentiously and coyly
revelry- who spends money in restaurants
gourmet– who loves sweets and delicacies
lefty- a person who uses his left hand better than his right (cf. right-handed) (neutral word). "Lefty" - a story by Nikolai Leskov (1881)
sluggard- a lazy person, a loafer who loves to lie, wallow (cf. sleepyhead)
liar- petty liar, liar
cutie, cutie- nice, likable, likable person
mymra- a dull and gloomy person.
klutz- impractical person
touchy- too sensitive person
dropout- who failed. “The half-educated magician” - song by A. Pugacheva (cf. self-taught)
fidget – active person, who loves to travel, he can not sit still
slut- dirty (see)
sad sack- someone who can do little, an armless person
nurse- crybaby (see)
glutton- who eats a lot, overeats
scribbler- who writes bad, deceitful texts, corrupt journalist
lick- flatterer (from the verb "suck up")
crybaby- who often cries (see roar)
why curious person (usually a child) who asks a lot of questions
right-handed- person who owns right hand better than right, unlike left-handed (see) (neutral word)
dupe- naive, gullible person, "loh"
drunkard- drinking too much alcoholic beverages (neutral word)
hard worker- who works hard (praise), a simple person "of the people"
rift, rift- Distracted, inattentive person. Comedy French films: Le Corniaud and Inspecteur la Bavure
confused (confused, Masha-confused)- who often lose things
muddler- disorganized person
roar- crybaby
self-taught who studied on their own without attending educational establishments(neutral word)
orphan- a child left without parents (neutral word)
sweet tooth- who likes sweets
dormouse- loves to sleep longer
dude– fan of Western fashion (in the 1950s)
quiet girl- a quiet, timid person
smart girl- smart, intelligent person (praise)
hanyga- beggar, drunkard
grabber- selfish acquirer (from the word "grab")
cunning- cunning
skinny- emaciated, frail person
neat- who cares too much about cleanliness
sneak- who sneaks, denounces (usually about children)

In my opinion, the following words are the most frequent and useful for memorizing RFL students: upstart, stutterer, bore, greedy, cripple, colleague, left-handed (right-handed), slob, glutton, crybaby, drunkard, hard worker, slob, self-taught, orphan, clever , grabber, sneak.

Funny riddle verses(from here). Slutty, slob, greedy?

In the house - dirt, black shirt
And his name is...

Nothing in the world
Petya will not share with you:
Not a cheesecake, not a toy,
Not a funny animal...
And the children shout to the boy:
"Oh and ... you, Petya!"

All year round we have losses:
Calendar - this week
Last month - ticket
This is the book and package.
The whole family is innocent
After all... it's me!

Common nouns also include invariable surnames (Makarenko, Hugo, etc.) and colloquial forms of some proper names (Sasha, Valya, Zhenya).

Words that name a person by profession, occupation (doctor, professor, architect, author, etc.) do not belong to common nouns. They are masculine nouns.

Therefore, the following words in -а (-я), apparently, should be considered masculine words:
bombed- illegal taxi driver ("bomb" - to engage in private transportation without registration)
bully- burglar thief; participant in the pogrom
threw- a swindler (cf. neologisms "throw", "scammer")
changed- who changes money, exchanges one currency for another

Words denoting feminine objects in the main meaning retain the feminine gender in a figurative meaning:
star- well-known, popular person
black grouse- a slow person (sleepy, lazy etc.). deaf t.- about a person who has not heard something or a deaf, hard of hearing person (disapprovingly)
bump (bump out of the blue)- an important, influential person (ironic)

UPD. Thanks to Gunnel Salminen for the addition (left-handed, right-handed, colleague, cripple)

A special group among nouns are the so-called words of the general gender. Their grammatical originality lies in the fact that the gender of these nouns changes depending on the gender of the person they designate (which means that the gender of the words that agree with them also changes). For example: "- Pyotr Alekseevich sang with us - and what a!" (Turg.); and: “He didn’t have time to finish, as the singer started playing another song, and the girls pulled each other” (L.T); "As a child I was a big roar" (Veres.); and: "It's amazing how much a person can change - a grimy, shaggy roar has become a prominent, intelligent girl" (A. Kozhevn.).

Common words include:

1) own indeclinable nouns - foreign-language surnames with a vowel (Maurois, Depardieu, Savary), surnames of foreign origin with a consonant (Sagan, Knipovich), as well as Russian, Slavic surnames with -o (Nesterenko, Durnovo, Zhivago) and -y /-them (Greyhounds, Sensitive);

2) common nouns, the vast majority of which are the names of a person as belonging to any nationality (Bantu, Burundi, Herero, Quechua, Mansi, Udege, Khanty, etc.), as well as some names of persons from different thematic groups (vis-a-vis , protege);

3) unofficial proper inflected names ending in -а/-я (Valya, Genya, Zhenya, Lera, Pasha, Sasha, etc.);

4) common declinable nouns ending in -а/-я, overwhelmingly characterizing a person by inclination, addiction to something, by some character trait, etc. and characteristic of a predominantly oral-colloquial style (bully, wimp, mumbling, ignoramus, klutz, crybaby, drunkard, razin, cunning, etc.). They are joined by some stylistically neutral words (singer, bookseller, orphan) and a book colleague.

From the evaluative words of the general gender (such as sly, razin, cunning) one should distinguish words-characteristics such as a crow, a fox, a rag, an ulcer. Their characteristic evaluative meaning arose as a result of metaphorical transfer, and therefore they retain the gender (feminine) of their direct meaning even when used in relation to a male person. For example: "Yesterday in this Variety (unprintable words) some kind of viper magician performed a session with chervonets ..." (M. Bulg.). A number of words in -a are masculine (and not common) nouns: bouncer, thug, kid, boss, rake, defrock, grunt, shirt (as an application: shirt-guy), headman, foreman, judge, toastmaster. In some cases, the belonging of words specifically and only to the masculine gender is explained by the nature of the occupation of the person as requiring great physical strength(bouncer, thug) or as inherent once or generally only to a man (slasher, defrock, toastmaster), in others - the tradition of using characteristics only in relation to a man (a child, a boss, a rake, a shirt), in the third - a grammatical tradition (headman , foreman, judge).

Note. The names of professions, positions, titles, etc., always remain masculine nouns. into a consonant (doctor, geologist, director, sergeant), which are used in relation to persons of both sexes. Naming the position, profession, etc. held by a woman, such words dictate their gender (masculine) to the definitions attached to them (adjectives, participles: "famous geologist", "practitioner"). The predicate can take the form of not only masculine, but also feminine (“the doctor prescribed the treatment”, “the director is outraged by this statement”, “the cashier was right”). Compare, for example: "- I understand why my editor rejected the script: it was almost impossible to get money for its implementation" (House of Cinema. 1990. May).

General nouns ending in -а/-я in modern speech often serve as a characteristic of objects or animals, birds, fish, etc. For example: "On a hot afternoon, kneel down, bend over a little tree, and your nostrils will catch the young and most delicate smell of pine resin" (M. Shol.); "There are buses, cargo taxis, and just taxis, and "private traders", that is, someone's personal cars, but most of all business hard workers cars" (Vl.Sol.); "The grapes begin to ripen, and gourmet birds are busily looking for browned grains" (Seraf.). What is the genus of such words-characteristics and definitions for them? Since in such usages nouns of the general gender act as a figurative personifying means, i.e. they liken an inanimate object or an animal to a person, insofar as the grammatical gender of the name of an object (animal) becomes a kind of indicator of "gender". So, used in relation to objects (animals), nouns of the general gender must have definitions in grammatical forms of the genus (male or female) to which the names of the objects they characterize belong. For example: "There, in the stuffy wheatgrass, in the wild curly clover, braids rang, a diligent hard worker floated above the people" (Fad.); “The air conditioner works all night long. All day long, a tireless hard worker makes a muffled noise in the corner” (Lit. Gaz. 1981. No. 41); "She is a very big sissy, this car" (N.Tikh.). If the name of the object belongs to the middle gender (little tree), and it does not correspond to the real, biological sex, then the definition of a noun of the general gender that characterizes such an object should be in the feminine form: "Melon tree is a big sissy." This form is dictated by the morphological "look" of a noun of general gender (with the ending -a: sissy).

Rakhmanova L.I., Suzdaltseva V.N. Modern Russian language. - M, 1997.