Hedgie's English Quest
Map › Ch 3 · Gender and Relations
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Chapter 3 · Book pages 11–12

👑 Gender and Relations

Kings and queens, stallions and mares, uncles, aunts and cousins: who's who in every family.

By the end of this lesson, you can…
  • change a word to its opposite gender, like duke → duchess or monk → nun
  • use the -ess rule and know the words that change completely
  • name the male and female of animals, like stallion / mare and cob / pen
  • work out family relations such as father's father or mother's brother
  • spot which gender pairs are correct and which are mixed up
Start the story →Jump to quiz
Every king needs a queen and every drake needs a duck! Let's sort out who's who. 👑
📖 Story time

The Royal Picnic Mix-Up

The Duke and Duchess of Bramblewood were holding a grand picnic. Hedgie was asked to write the name cards.

HedgieDone! “Welcome, Duke Daisy and Duchess Dinesh. Please meet the hostess, Mr Badger.”
🦉
Ollie the OwlHoo-hoo! Hedgie, Daisy is a lady, so she is the Duchess. Dinesh is a man, so he is the Duke. And Mr Badger is the host.
HedgieOh! So some words are for males and some are for females?
🦉
Ollie the OwlYes! That is called gender. Words for males are masculine (he). Words for females are feminine (she). Often we just add -ess: host → hostess, count → countess.
🦊
Fizz the FoxEasy peasy! Then a lady monk is a monkess, and a girl swan is a swaness!
🐢
Tara TortoiseNot so fast, Fizz. Some words change completely. A lady monk is a nun. A male swan is a cob and a female swan is a pen.
🐹
Mo the MoleI'm muddled too. My mum's brother is coming to the picnic. Is he my… brother-uncle?
🦉
Ollie the OwlHe is your maternal uncle, Mo. Maternal means on your mother's side. And his daughter is your cousin.
🐰
Bela BunnyLet's draw a family tree! Then nobody will get lost.

So Hedgie fixed the cards, and the picnic began with every king, queen, uncle and aunt in the right place.

💡 Big ideas

Let's learn it

Read each card, try the example sentences out loud (tap 🔊), then answer the Quick check.

1

🚻What is gender?

Gender tells us whether a noun (a naming word) is male, female, either, or neither.

  • Masculine: for males, like king, uncle, bull (he)
  • Feminine: for females, like queen, aunt, cow (she)
  • Common: can be male or female, like teacher, cousin, child, parent, friend
  • Neuter: for things that are not alive, like table, pen, book (it)
  • The king and the queen waved to the crowd. king = masculine, queen = feminine
  • My cousin Anaya and my cousin Aarav came to visit. cousin is common gender: it is used for boys and girls
  • For most insects, like a beetle, we just say male beetle and female beetle. there is no special word, so use male / female
Hedgie's trickAsk: “Would I say he, she, he or she, or it?” He = masculine, she = feminine, he or she = common, it = neuter.
Olympiad trap!Not every animal has special gender words. For a beetle, butterfly or ant, the answer is simply male and female.
🧐 Quick check
Which word is of common gender (can be male or female)?
2

✨The -ess family

Many feminine words are made by adding -ess to the masculine word. Watch the spelling: sometimes letters change before -ess.

MasculineFeminineSpelling note
hosthostessjust add -ess
countcountessjust add -ess
stewardstewardessjust add -ess
leopardleopardessjust add -ess
lion / princelioness / princessjust add -ess
actor / waiteractress / waitressdrop the o / e
tigertigressdrop the e
dukeduchessspecial: duke → duch + ess
  • The steward and the stewardess served us snacks on the plane. steward + ess
  • The duke and the duchess live in a castle. not 'dukess'!
  • Mr Rao is the host; Mrs Rao is the hostess. a host welcomes guests
Hedgie's trickThink of -ess as a little crown 👑 you put on the end of the word to make it feminine: prince → princess.
Olympiad trap!If the given word is already feminine (like hostess or duchess), take the crown off to find the masculine: hostess → host, duchess → duke.
🧐 Quick check
What is the masculine of duchess?
3

🔄Words that change

Some pairs change a part of the word, and some are completely different words. These must be learnt by heart.

MasculineFeminineHow it changes
headmasterheadmistressmaster → mistress
great-unclegreat-auntuncle → aunt
grandsongranddaughterson → daughter
landlord / milkmanlandlady / milkmaidpart changes
kingqueennew word
monknunnew word
husband / nephewwife / niecenew word
gentleman / sirlady / madamnew word
  • Our headmistress rang the bell, and the headmaster gave a speech. head + master / head + mistress
  • The monk and the nun both prayed in the temple garden. nun is a completely new word
  • Grandma's sister is my great-aunt. great-uncle → great-aunt (keep 'great')
Hedgie's trickFor joined words like great-uncle or grandson, only change the gender part and keep the rest: great-uncle → great-aunt.
Olympiad trap!Don't pick a nearby relation instead of the opposite gender. The feminine of great-uncle is great-aunt, not grandmother or aunt. The feminine of monk is nun, not sister or mother.
🧐 Quick check
What is the feminine of headmaster?
4

🐴Animal males and females

Many animals have special names for the male and the female. These are favourite Olympiad questions!

AnimalMaleFemale
horsestallionmare
deer / rabbitbuck (stag)doe (hind)
goatbilly goatnanny goat
pigboarsow
swancobpen
ferrethobjill
duckdrakeduck
hencock / roosterhen
cattlebullcow
cattomqueen (molly)
beedronequeen (or worker)
fox / sheepdog fox / ramvixen / ewe
  • The stallion galloped beside the mare and her foal. horse family
  • A cob and a pen glided across the lake. a pair of swans
  • The drake has shiny green feathers; the female duck is brown. a male duck is a drake
Hedgie's trickMemory rhymes: “Billy and Nanny are goats so canny.” “Boar and sow go oink and how!” “Cob and pen swim round again.”
Olympiad trap!Queen is the female of a cat and of a bee, and hen is the female of a cock, not of a drake. Always check that both words belong to the same animal.
Fun factA female ferret is called a jill and a male is a hob. Baby ferrets are called kits. And a female swan is a pen, just like the thing you write with! 🦢
🧐 Quick check
A sow is a female pig. What is a male pig called?
5

🌳Family relations

Work out a relation step by step, like walking along a family tree. Start with you, then follow each word.

  • Paternal = on your father's side · Maternal = on your mother's side
  • Father's / mother's father = grandfather; their mother = grandmother
  • Father's / mother's brother = uncle; their sister = aunt
  • Uncle's or aunt's child = cousin
  • Brother's / sister's son = nephew; their daughter = niece
  • Grandparent's brother = great-uncle; their sister = great-aunt
  • Your father's brother is your uncle (paternal uncle). dad's side
  • Your mother's brother is your maternal uncle (mama). mum's side
  • Your uncle's daughter is your cousin. uncle → his child → cousin
  • Your father's father is your grandfather (dada). parent's parent = grandparent
Hedgie's trickRead the relation backwards and draw tiny stick figures: “mother's brother” → draw Mum → draw her brother → that's your uncle! Maternal = Mother.
Olympiad trap!Uncle's daughter is not your sister or niece. She is your cousin. A niece is your brother's or sister's daughter.
Fun factHindi has different words for each uncle! Chacha (father's younger brother), Tau (father's elder brother), Mama (mother's brother) and Mausa (mother's sister's husband). English just says uncle!
🧐 Quick check
What do you call your mother's mother?
6

⚖️Pair puzzles: correct or mixed up?

Hard questions show four pairs and ask which is correct (or which is not). Check each pair with two questions:

  1. Are both words about the same kind of person or animal?
  2. Is one male and the other female?

Only a pair that passes both checks is correct.

  • King and Queen ✔ · Husband and Aunt ✘ husband goes with wife; aunt goes with uncle
  • Rooster and Hen ✔ · Drake and Hen ✘ a drake's partner is a duck
  • Stallion and Mare ✔ · Lion and Tigress ✘ lion → lioness; tiger → tigress
Hedgie's trickCover the second word and say the opposite gender of the first one yourself. If what you said matches the second word, the pair is correct ✔.
Olympiad trap!Read carefully: is the question asking for the pair that is correct or the one that is not? Circle the word not when you see it!
🧐 Quick check
Which pair is the correct masculine and feminine?
🗺️ Mind map

The whole chapter on one page

Tap a branch to focus on it. Can you explain each bubble to someone at home?

🃏 Flashcards

Flip & remember

Say the answer in your head before you flip. Be honest — "not yet" cards go to your Review Burrow for later.

📘 Book mission

Now practise in your workbook

Use a pencil. Do each set, then check with the answer key and tick it off here.

📗 Open the answer key
🎁 Wrap-up

Remember these

  1. Masculine = male (he), feminine = female (she), common = either (cousin), neuter = things (it).
  2. Many feminines add -ess: host → hostess, count → countess, but duke → duchess.
  3. Some words change: monk → nun, king → queen, headmaster → headmistress, great-uncle → great-aunt.
  4. Learn animal pairs: stallion/mare, buck/doe, billy/nanny, boar/sow, cob/pen, hob/jill, drake/duck, tom/queen, drone/queen.
  5. Relations step by step: father's father = grandfather, mother's brother = maternal uncle, uncle's child = cousin.
  6. In pair puzzles, both words must be the same animal or person and opposite genders.

🦔 Teach Hedgie!

Hedgie thinks his uncle's daughter is his sister! Draw a little family tree for him and explain why she is his cousin. Then tell him the female of a drake.

Explaining something in your own words is the best way to make it stick.

How do you feel about this chapter?

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← Synonyms and AntonymsSingular-Plural and One Word Substitution →