Old English nouns had grammatical gender, a feature absent in modern English, which uses only natural gender. For example, the words sunne ("sun"), mōna ("moon") and wīf ("woman/wife") were respectively feminine, masculine and neuter; this is reflected, among other things, in the form of the definite article used with these nouns: sēo sunne ("the sun"), se mōna ("the moon"), þæt wīf ("the woman/wife"). Pronoun usage could reflect either natural or grammatical gender, when those conflicted (as in the case of wīf, a neuter noun referring to a female person).
Old English nouns had grammatical gender , a feature absent in modern English , which uses only natural gender . For example , the words sunne ( " sun " ) , mōna ( " moon " ) and wīf ( " woman / wife " ) were respectively feminine , masculine and neuter ; this is reflected , among other things , in the form of the definite article used with these nouns : sēo sunne ( " the sun " ) , se mōna ( " the moon " ) , þæt wīf ( " the woman / wife " ) . Pronoun usage could reflect either natural or grammatical gender , when those conflicted ( as in the case of wīf , a neuter noun referring to a female person ) .
What type of gender did Old English nouns possess?
What type of gender did Old English nouns possess ?
grammatical
grammatical