When Did English Lose Gender? Understanding Grammatical Changes

Discover when English lost grammatical gender and how the language evolved over the centuries.

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English lost grammatical gender during the Middle English period, around the 11th to 14th centuries. Old English had grammatical gender, but over time, the language simplified its structure, and grammatical gender distinctions were dropped. Now, English mostly uses natural gender based on the actual gender of the subject.

FAQs & Answers

  1. What is grammatical gender in language? Grammatical gender is a classification system for nouns, typically categorized as masculine, feminine, or neuter, which can affect the form of words in a sentence.
  2. How did Old English differ from Modern English? Old English featured a complex system of inflections, including grammatical gender, which has largely simplified in Modern English.
  3. What time period marks the transition from Old English to Middle English? The transition occurred around the 11th to 14th centuries, during which English underwent significant grammatical simplifications.

Watch More

For more insights into the evolution of the English language, check out our videos on the history of English and the impact of Old English on modern speech.

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