The 10 gender cases

(1),(2) Personal M/F nouns

A. Morphologically unmarked for gender;
P.M.N.1 that are morphologically unmarked for gender: bachelor, brother,
king, man, monk, father, uncle, gentleman.
P.F.N.2 that are morphologically unmarked for gender: spinster, sister,
queen, woman, nun, mother, aunt, lady.
D.G.D.3 for some nouns, in addition to the M/F Denotation:
Masculine
Feminine
Dual
father
mother
parent
husband
wife
spouse
brother
sister
sibling
king
queen
monarch
son
daughter
child
In some nouns, only D.G.D. is found: cousin, teacher, writer, doctor,
lawyer.
P.M.N and P.F.N., morphologically marked for gender, gender-specific
derivational ending:
Masculine
Feminine
Masculine
Feminine
bridegroom
bride
hero
heroine
duke
duchess
host
hostess
emperor
empress
widower
widow
god
goddess
waiter
waitress
B. Derivational relationship between the 2 gender forms (suffixation).
Usually, the feminine is derived from the masculine, but the opposite is
also possible:
- widow - widower, bride bridegroom
The ending -ess is unambiguously a feminine marker;
The ending -or / -er is not a masculine-only marker, especially when
there is no corresponding -ess form in common use ( doctor, teacher
etc.);
Many nouns ending in -or / -er are perceived as carrying strong
masculine connotations;
In some cases, the sound of the stem has been altered to such extent, that
the feminine can hardly be described as a derivative of the masculine:
abbot abbess, duke duchess, master mistress, marquis marchioness,
negro negress.
Other suffixes for F.N. : chauffeur chauffeuse, czar czarina, hero
heroine, aviator aviatrix, executor executrix;
At the semantic level, many of the M/F word pairs ( man/woman,
gentleman/lady etc.) are far from being equivalent: In actual usage, some
of the nouns referring to women have undergone a process of semantic
derogation, denoting a lesser social role, or achieving negative overtones,
although they are supposed to designate the same state/ condition
( inferior position in society for women).
(3) Personal Dual Gender (he/she who)
the same noun is used to denote both males and females : chairman,
artist, cook, criminal, doctor, enemy, foreigner, friend, guest, inhabitant,
librarian, musician, neighbour, novelist, parent, person, professor, speaker,
student, teacher, writer.
Formal gender markers that indicate M-F distinction
a. Gender-specific premodification (male/female, boy/girl, man/woman)
P.M.N. = personal masculine nouns
P.F.N. = personal feminine nouns

D.G.D. = dual gender denotation`

boy friend girl friend // man servant woman servant // male student female
student
b. Gender-specific postmodification
[...] there are many well-known artists, men and women.
c. Compounding with a gender-specific element : englishman, scotsman,
policewoman
d. At the level of the sentence through the use of personal, reflexive or
possessive pronouns: The teacher praised her(his) students.
e. Gender-specific adjectives : pregnant or buxom. ([...]the Patriarchs
buxom companion, [..] my pregnant friend)
Society gradually opens up to both sexes, thus causing dual gender nouns
to be on the increase (engineer, nurse). The gender marker is still
necessary with: male model, male nurse, female engineer; these markers
are still perceived as violating gender stereotypes.
Pronominal substitutes with dual gender or generic reference
- English has no neuter third person singular pronoun referring to dual
gender nouns (friend, individual, journalist, teacher, student etc.)
- When the sex of the referent is unknown or irrelevant, there are problems
in use of personal pronouns such as : everyone, everybody, someone,
somebody, everyone, everybody no one, nobody.
- Formal English imposed the use of masculine pronouns : Each novelist
aims to make a single novel of the material he has been given; Everyone
thinks he knows the answer.
The grammatical devices used as alternatives to masculine forms with
dual or generic reference
A Use of coordinated masculine and feminine pronoun forms
- Conjoining the masculine and feminine pronouns : Every student has to
hand his/her paper..
B Use of plural forms instead of singular forms
- They - commonly used as third personal singular pronoun, neuter between
M and F:
Everybody remembers where they were when JFK was shot.
- Making the subject plural: All students have to hand in their paper at the
end of the week
- Using indefinite pronouns: All of them think they have the answer.
(4) Common Gender (who he/she ; which it)
they are intermediate between personal and non personal.
common gender applies to nouns such as : baby, infant, child
they can be replaced by the neuter pronoun it(s)
The baby lost his parents when it was three years old.
The use of the neuter pronoun it is used when the referent is detached
from the baby.
(5) Collective Nouns (which-it; who-they)
They take as pronoun substitutes , singular (it) or plural (they), without
change of number in the noun.
The distinction within collective nouns is related to number, rather than
gender.
Focus is made on the collectivity of the group (singular) or on the
individuals within the group (plural). The tendency nowadays is to use the
singular forms.
(6),(7) Masculine and feminine higher animals
Society has chosen a range of animals that were deemed necessary to
distinguish, animals involved in familiar experience or in the context of
farming or as domestic pets.
P.M.N. = personal masculine nouns
P.F.N. = personal feminine nouns

D.G.D. = dual gender denotation`

 These nouns occur usually with which as a relative pronouns, or he/she as

referent pronouns.
Masculine
Feminine
Masculine
Feminine
boar
sow
buck
doe
bull
doe
cock
hen
dog
bitch
gander
goose
lion
lioness
stallion
mare
stag
hind/doe
tiger
tigress
ram
ewe
fox
vixen
Some of these nouns are used with dual gender reference:
Masculine
Feminine
Dual
ram
ewe
sheep
boar
sow
pig/swine
stallion
mare
horse
stag
hind/doe
deer
cock
hen
fowl
Some nouns are using masculine forms for dual gender reference:
Masculine
Feminine
Dual
fox
vixen
fox
lion
lioness
lion
ruff
reeve
ruff
Some nouns are using feminine forms for dual gender reference:
Masculine
Feminine
Dual
gander
goose
goose
drake
duck
duck
Other nouns use compound nouns with proper names to indicate sex
differences:
Masculine
Feminine
Dual
tom-cat
tabby-cat
cat
jack-ass
jenny-ass
ass
(8) Higher organisms (it/she which)
Includes nouns denoting ships, countries and other entities towards which
the speaker expresses an affectionate attitude.
The pronominal substitutes are she, it and which
The Titanic sank on her maiden voyage; she hit an iceberg.
Names of countries have different gender depending on their use:
(a)as geographical units they are neuter: France is in Europe. It is one of
the largest there.
(b)as political, economical and cultural units, they are feminine: Britain
called her allies.
(c) Denoting sports teams, they are treated as collective nouns. They
agree with the verb in the plural: France have improved their chances
of winning the Cup
(9) Lower animals (it-which)
They take as pronoun substitutes it and which.
The M-F distinction can be made explicit by formal gender markers if it is
felt to be relevant:
Masculine
Feminine Gender can be marked
male frog
female frog
lexically, by different lexical
he-goat
she-goat
dog-otter
bitch-otter items:
cock-pheasant
hen-pheasant
Masculine
Feminine
drone
bee-queen
P.M.N. = personal masculine nouns
P.F.N. = personal feminine nouns

D.G.D. = dual gender denotation`

male-wasp
female-wasp
cock-pigeon
hen-pigeon
he-bear
she-bear
buck-hare/jack hare
doe-hare
buck-rabbit
doe-rabbit
(10) Inanimate nouns (it-which)
They take as pronoun substitutes it and which.
Personification leads to giving the nouns of classes 9 and 10 the
features [+human]. [+animate], accounting for the use of pronominal
substitutes he she and who.

English Cases

There are 4 cases distinguished by inflections: Nominative, Genitive,

Dative and Accusative.
For most cases, inflections have been taken over by word order and
function words, such as prepositions
The only remaining case inflection for nouns is the Genitive Inflection
The nominative case
Designates the actor of an action
Is associated with the feature [+animate] of the subject:
John is swimming.// The dog is barking
Nominative case inflection is characteristic of the subject of a sentence, of
a predicative noun phrase and of appositive noun phrases:
The country now faces an economic crisis
John is a doctor.
This book is by Austin, the philosopher of language.
The accusative case
Accusative case inflection designates the person or thing on which the
action of the verb is performed(syntactic function of direct object):
John broke the window.// Tom beats John.
The dative case
Dative case is marked by word order(syntactic function of indirect object)
John gave flowers to Mary.// John gave Mary flowers.
Nouns that do not have the [+animate] feature do not invert with the
direct object:
Ive found a place for the magnolia tree.
Ive found the magnolia tree a place.
Ive found a place for Mr. Jones.
Ive found Mr. Jones a place.

The genitive case

In traditional grammar, s case considered to be a case inflection, but it
is usually analyzed as a clitic (grammatically independent and
phonologically dependent word).
The apostrophe is an indicator of the replaced e in the -es form of Old
English genitive.
The girl was playing.
-->
The girls were playing.
The girls toys were new.
-->
The girls toys were new.
!!!
With Irregular Nouns, neutralization doesnt occur (fourfold distinction):
The child was watching.
-->
The children were watching.
The childs toys were new.
-->
The childrens toys were new.
The genitive case is generally paraphrased as meaning belonging to,
related to, associated with.
P.M.N. = personal masculine nouns
P.F.N. = personal feminine nouns

D.G.D. = dual gender denotation`

 Realized as inflectional genitive ( or synthetic genitive) s and

prepositional genitive ( or periphrastic genitive) of.
There were strong objections from the islands inhabitants.
There were strong objections from the inhabitants of the island.

A Inflectional genitive
Favoured by the classes that are highest on the gender scale.
Associated with those classes of animate gender, especially those with
special reference.
1. Animate nouns
a. Personal names: George Washingtons statue
b. Personal nouns: My sisters pencil
c. Collective nouns: the Administrations policy, the majoritys platform
d. Higher animals: the horses neck, the farm dogs bark, the lions tail.
!!!
nouns denoting lower animals take of construction: the egg of a sparrow, the
wings of a butterfly.
2. Inanimate nouns
a. Geographical names when they are used to imply human collectivity:
Italys policy (*Italys rivers = rivers of Italy), United States attitude,
Minnesotas immigrants etc.
b. Locative nouns used when they have relevance to human activities: the
hotels occupants (*the hotels furniture = the furniture of the hotel), the
towns taxpayers etc.
c. Temporal nouns: an hours work, a moments thought, in two years time, a
three days trip.
o Applies to adverbial denotations of time used substantively: the decades
events, the days work, todays traffic problem, this years sales etc.
d. Nouns of special interest to human activity: the brains total solid
weight, the games history, the bodys needs, my lifes aim, the strikes end,
the wines character etc.

B Prepositional Genitive
-

1. With abstract nouns and nouns denoting inanimate entities:

Ive been studying the philosophy of language.
2. When the noun is followed by a verb phrase or clause which defines it:
The players ignored the jeers of the women standing in the front row.
3. When referred to a specific date:
The cathedral was destroyed in the fire of 1666.
4. With long and complex phrases, even when the possessive structure
refers to people:
A man was sentenced to death for the murder of an English tourist,
Monica Cantwell.
5. When proper names are coordinated or the noun phrase is complex:
The reign of James the second.// The Collected Works of William
Shakespeare.
6. Personal adjectival heads cannot be used in the inflectional genitive:
the spiritual welfare of the poor, the language of the deaf-and-dumb.
7. Uncountable nouns with generic reference do not normally take the
genitive inflection: the humidity of air.
8. When the noun phrase is preceded by the indefinite article: She is a
great admirer of H.J.
9. Certain fixed expressions and titles take the of-construction, even
though reference is made to people: Hes the President of U.S. The
Prince of Wales is to visit Iceland.

P.M.N. = personal masculine nouns

P.F.N. = personal feminine nouns

D.G.D. = dual gender denotation`

The Group Genitive

= construction where the genitive inflections is added to the last element of a
noun phrase consisting of a postmodified or coordinated noun head: In a month
or twos time // the Duke of Yorks son.
Coordinated NPs make a distinction between coordinated genitives
( Johns and Marys books some books are Johns, some are Marys) and
group genitives ( John and Marys books all books are jointly owned).
Nouns in apposition take the group genitive when the complement of the
genitive is stated: at Smith, the booksellers office;
If the complement is omitted, the genitive suffix can be attached to the
first or both elements:
At Smiths, the bookseller/ at Smiths, the booksellers/ at Smith, the booksellers
The elliptic genitive(independent genitive)
Used when the reference is clear from the context: That isnt my
handwriting. Its Marys.
Prep. Genit. Is used with the demonstratives that or those as
replacements for the noun:
The wines of France are more expensive than those of California.
The local genitive = special case of elliptic genitive. Refers in general to places
that provide services.
(A)
To refer to somebodys residence I arrived at Freds // well be at
my aunts.
(B)
Names of public buildings(usually a saints name) St Pauls // St
Jamess etc.
(C)
Names of shops, companies, people/places: the butchers, the
grocers, the dentists etc.
The implicit genitive Harrods (Harrods shop), Longmans (Longmans shop),
St. Ives(St. Ives town)
The double genitive combined construction of inflected and prepositional
genitives(A friend of Johns, a picture of the kings=owned by the king, a friend
of his fathers, a work of Miltons etc.
The appositive genitive rarely used Dublins fair city.

Verb Phrases

1.

Present Tense Simple

(A)
The state present is used with stative verb senses to refer to a
state that has existed in the past, exists now and could to continue to exist
in the future (eternal truths) 2 and 3 make 5
(B)
The habitual present is used with dynamic verb senses to refer to
events that repeatedly occur without limitation on their extension into the
past or future. Like the state present, the habitual present includes the
timeless present Water boils at 100 C.// The earth moves around the

sun.//We go to Brussels every year.// She doesnt smoke.// Bill drinks

heavily.
Habitual present doesnt always refer to something that applies at the
time of speaking: Bill drinks heavily, when Bill is not actually drinking.
Habitual present accepts frequency adverbials(often, once a day, every
year etc.)
(C)
The instantaneous present is used with dynamic verb senses to
refer to a single event with little or no duration that occurs at the time of
speaking/writing. Used in certain situations:
- In commentaries: Black passes to Fernandez.
- In self-commentaries: I enclose a form of application.
P.M.N. = personal masculine nouns
P.F.N. = personal feminine nouns

D.G.D. = dual gender denotation`

With performative verbs: We acknowledge your letter. // I apologize for my

behaviour.

Present Simple for past and future

(a) The historic present/vivid present refers to past time and is

characteristic of narrative style. (Just as we arrived, up comes Ben
and slaps me on the back as if were life-long friends).
(b)The simple present is used to refer to the past with verbs of
communication to suggest that the information communicated is still
valid: I hear that you need help.
(c) In main clauses, the simple present typically occurs with timeposition adverbials to suggest a future event is certain to take place:
The plane leaves at 8 oclock tonight.

2.

Past Tense Simple + Special Uses

- Used to refer to a situation set at a definite time in the past.

(A)
The event past is used with dynamic verb senses to refer to a
single definite event in the past. The event may take place over an
extended period ( The Normans invaded England in 1066) or at a point in
time (The plane left at 9 a.m.). The time can be expressed by a time
adverbial such as in 1066 or it can be presupposed on the basis of
knowledge shared by the speaker and hearer: Your brother was at school
with me.
(B)
The habitual past is used with stative verb senses for past events
that occurred repeatedly: We spent our holidays in Spain when we were
children.
(C)
The state past is used with stative verb tenses to refer to a single
unbroken state of affairs in the past: I once liked reading novels.
!!!
The habitual and state meanings of the past can be paraphrased by
used to.

Special Uses
(a)In indirect speech, it may cause the verb in the subordinate reported
clause to be backshifted into the simple past: She said she knew you. // I
thought you were in Paris.
(b)The attitudinal past is optionally used to refer more tentatively to a
present state of mind: Did you want to see me now? // I wondered whether
you are/were free tomorrow.
(c) The hypothetical past is used in certain subordinate clauses, especially
if-clauses, to convey what is contrary to the belief or expectation of the
speaker:
I wish i had a memory like yours.
-------->> i dont have such a
memory
If you knew him, you wouldnt say that. -------->> you dont know him
If she asked me, I would help her.
-------->> she will not ask me

3.

Present Perfect

- Used to refer to a situation, indefinite time beginning in the past and leading up
to the present.
(A)
The state present perfect is used with stative verb senses to refer
to a state that began in the past and extends to the present and will
P.M.N. = personal masculine nouns
P.F.N. = personal feminine nouns

D.G.D. = dual gender denotation`

perhaps continue in the future: She has owned the house since her father
died. // They have been unhappy for a long time.
(B)
The event present perfect is used with dynamic verb senses to
refer to one or more events that have occurred at some time within a
period leading up to the present. There are 2 types:
1. Events reported as news: Ive just got a job. // There has been a serious
accident.
2. The events occurred at some more remote time in the past, but the implicit
time period that frames the events leads up to the present: She has given
an interview only once in her life.
(C)
The habitual present perfect is used with dynamic verb senses to
refer to past events that repeatedly occur up to and including the present:
The magazine has been published every month since 1975. // Ive been
reading only science fiction till now.
Some adverbials co-occur with the present perfect and not with the simple
past. They include the adverb since, prepositional phrases and clauses
introduced by since, the phrases till/up to now and so far.
If will or shall is combined with future, the resulting future perfect
conveys the meaning past in future : By next week, they will have
completed their contract.

4.

Past Perfect

- The past perfect refers to a time earlier than another past time.
It may represent the past of the simple past: They had moved into the
house before the baby was born.
The simple past can often replace the past perfect in such cases if the time
relationship between the two situations is clear: They moved into the
house before the baby was born.
The past perfect may also represent the past of the present perfect: She
had owned the house since her parents died entails that she does not
own it now // She has owned the house since her parents died entails that
she still owns the house

Special uses
(a)In indirect speech constructions it indicates a backshift into the more
remote past: I told her the parcel had not arrived.
(b)The attitudinal past perfect refers more politely than the simple past to
a present state of mind: I had wondered whether you are/were free now.
(c) They hypothetical past perfect is used in certain subordinate clauses
especially if-clauses to imply that the situation did not occur: If i had been
there, it would not have happened.

5.

Ways of Expressing Future

- Future time is expressed by means of modal auxiliaries and verb idioms (be and
have)
1. Will/shall + infinitive the most common way to express future: He will
be here in 1 hour.
Shall is also sometimes used with the infinitive (Southern BrE) to indicate
futurity with a first person subject: No doubt i shall see you next week.
2. Be going to + infinitive general meaning of future of the present.
There are two other specific meanings:
a. Future fulfilment of a present intention is chiefly associated with
personal subjects and agentive verbs: Mary is going to lend us her camera.

P.M.N. = personal masculine nouns

P.F.N. = personal feminine nouns

D.G.D. = dual gender denotation`

b. Future fulfilment of a present cause is found with both personal and nonpersonal subjects: Its going to rain. // She is going to have a baby. //
Theres going to be trouble.
3. Present progressive meaning of future arising from present
arrangement, plan: Im taking the children to the zoo. // The orchestra is
playing a Mozart symphony after this.
4. Simple present it is frequently found only in the subordinate clauses:
What will you say if I marry the boss? // At this rate, the guests will be
drunk before they leave.
In main clauses, the future use represents a marked future of unusual
certainty, attributing to the future the degree of certainty one usually
associates with the present and the past. It is used for statements about
the calendar : Tomorrow is Thursday. // School finishes on March, 21.
Also describes immutable events: When is high tide? // What time does the
match begin?
5. Will/shall + progressive indicates a future period of time in which
another situation occurs: When you reach the end of the bridge, Ill be
waiting there to show you the way.
Another use denotes future as a matter of course : Well be flying at
30,000 feet. spoken by the pilot of an aircraft to the passengers implies
that 30,000 feet is the normal and expected altitude for the flight.
6. Be(about) to + infinitive (be to + infinitive) used to refer to a future
arrangement or plan, a future requirement and intention: Their daughter is
to be married soon.
It simply expresses near future: The train is about to leave. // Im about to
leave your essay.
The negative translates as have no intention of: She is not about to
complain.
7. Modals s
- Futurity can be indicated by modals other than will/shall: The weather
may(must) improve.
- It is also indicated by verb idioms such as be sure to, be bound to, be likely to.
a. Future in the past most of the future constructions discussed can be
used in the past tense to describe something which is in the future when
seen from a view point in the past.
b. Modal verb construction with would generally used in literary
narrative style: The time was not far off when he would regret this
decision.
c. Be going to + infinitive used with the sense of unfulfilled intention: You
were going to give me the address (but you didnt)
d. Past progressive used to express an arrangement predetermined in the
past: I was meeting him in Bordeaux the next day.
e. Be to + infinitive: He was eventually to end up in the bankruptcy court.
f. Be about to + infinitive: He was about to hit me.

6.

The Subjunctive Mood

Forms of the subjunctive

1. The present subjunctive is expressed in the base form of the verb. For
the verb be, the subjunctive form be is distinct from the indicative
forms am, is, are. For other verbs, the subjunctive is distinctive only in
the 3rd person singular.
P.M.N. = personal masculine nouns
P.F.N. = personal feminine nouns

D.G.D. = dual gender denotation`

2. The past subjunctive (or were-subjunctive) survives only in were as a

past form of be. It is distinguishable from the past indicative of be only in
the 1st and 3rd persons singular.
If she was here, you would have heard about it. indicative
If she were here, you would have heard about it. subjunctive
Uses of the subjunctive
1. Present subjunctive
a. The mandative subjunctive used in a that-clause after a
demand, recommendation, proposal, intention ( we
insist/prefer/request that...; it is necessary/desirable/imperative
that...; the decision/requirement/resolution that...).
b. The formulaic subjunctive used in certain set expressions:
God save the Queen!
Suffice it to say that...
Long live the King!
Heaven forbid that...
Come what may
Be that as it may
2. The past subjunctive hypothetical in meaning. Used in conditional and
concessive clauses and in subordinate clauses after wish, suppose.
I wish the journey were over.
If I were a rich man, I would...(not be taking this stupid exam) ^_^ I joke, I joke
Just suppose everyone were to act like you

Spelling of regular verb inflections

1. Doubling of consonant before -ing and -ed
The consonant letter at the end of the base is doubled when the preceding
vowel is stressed and spelled with a single letter: bar ~ barring ~ barred //
occur ~ occurring ~ occurred.
There is normally no doubling when the preceding vowel is unstressed
(enter ~ entering ~ entered // visit ~ visiting ~ visited) or is written with
two letters (dread ~dreading ~ dreaded).
NOTE (a) BrE breaks the rule by doubling after unstressed syllables ending
in l, m, p.
travelling
travelled
BrE and AmE
!!!
The
travel
traveling
traveled
AmE only
verbs
programming
programmed
BrE and AmE
program(me)
programing
programed
AmE only Handica
p and
worshipping
worshipped
BrE and AmE
worship
worshiping
worshiped
AmE only Kidnap
NOTE (b) In both BrE and AmE, the general rule is broken by the doublingfollow
of -g in humbug-humbugging-humbugged and of words ending in -c
(spelled -ck-) panic-panicking-panicked.
NOTE (c) In certain verbs whose base ends in a vowel followed by s,
there is variation between -s- and -ss- when the inflection is added:
bias
biasing
biassing
biased
biassed
bus
busing
bussing
bused
bussed
focus
focusing
focussing
focused
focussed
2. Deletion and addition of -e
If the base ends in an unpronounced -e, this -e is regularly dropped
before the -ing and -ed inflections:
P.M.N. = personal masculine nouns
P.F.N. = personal feminine nouns

D.G.D. = dual gender denotation`

create
creating
created
shave
shaving
shaved
bake
baking
baked
type
typing
typed
Verbs with monosyllabic bases in ye,-oe and nge, pronounced /nd/, are
exceptions to this rule: they do not lose the e before ing, but they do lose
it before ed:
dye
dyeing
dyed
singe
singeing
singed
hoe
hoeing
hoed
tinge
tingeing
tinged
The final e is lost before ed by verbs ending in ie or ee: tie-tied, diedied, agree-agreed.
Before the s ending, on the other hand, an e is added after the following
letters, representing sibilant consonants:
s
pass
passes
ch
watch
watches
x
coax
coaxes
z
buzz
buzzes
sh
wash
washes
NOTE (a) An e is added after o in GO (goes), DO (does), ECHO(echoes),
VETO(vetoes)
NOTE (b) The e is regularly dropped in impinging and infringing.
3. Treatment of -y
In bases ending in a consonant followed by y, the following changes take
place:
(a) y changes to ie before s: carry ~ carries, try ~ tries
(b) y changes to i before ed: carry ~ carried, try ~ tried.
The y remains, however, where it follows a single vowel letter: stay ~
stayed, alloy ~ alloys
Or when it precedes ing: carry ~ carrying, stay ~ staying.
A different spelling change occurs in verbs whose bases end in ie: DIE,
LIE, TIE, VIE. In these cases, the ie changes to y before ing is added:
die-dying, lie-lying, tie-tying, vie-vying.
NOTE
- Exceptions to these rules are certain verbs where the y changes to
i after a-:
PAY (paid) and LAY(laid) and their derivatives: REPAY(repaid),
MISLAY(mislaid).
- The irregular verb SAY follows the same pattern (said).

P.M.N. = personal masculine nouns

P.F.N. = personal feminine nouns

D.G.D. = dual gender denotation`