English Grammar

Are animals it or she or he?

User since 2008
Posts: 588

7 Dec. 2008

In my today's lesson I got a sentence to explain the difference between to strike, struck, struck, and to stroke:

I stroked the cat and she started to purr.

Is the cat grammatical neuter or female in English?

4 comments

Fugendichter
User since 2008
Posts: 588
7 Dec. 2008

Thanks for bringing lucky moments in my second Advent Sunday evening. You barked up the wrong tree: In the past I had many cats who (which) lived in and around the house, my sister and I integrated them in our role-plays, they all were very patient. Now there remained only two strayed cats KARLHEINZ AND FREDERIC, they come regularly several times a day and they get in a huff when I'm abroad.
You see: I like cats and they like me.
But I like English grammar too.

CW
Thanks for bringing lucky moments in my second Advent Sunday evening. You barked up the wrong tree: In the past I had many cats who (which) lived in and around the house, my sister and I integrated them in our role-plays, they all were very patient. Now there remained only two strayed cats KARLHEINZ AND FREDERIC, they come regularly several times a day and they get in a huff when I'm abroad. You see: I like cats and they like me. But I like English grammar too. CW
Fugendichter
User since 2008
Posts: 588
7 Dec. 2008

In my today's lesson I got a sentence to explain the difference between to strike, struck, struck, and to stroke:

I stroked the cat and she started to purr.

Is the cat grammatical neuter or female in English?
In my today's lesson I got a sentence to explain the difference between to strike, struck, struck, and to stroke: I stroked the cat and she started to purr. Is the cat grammatical neuter or female in English?
AhQ ['a: kiu]
User since 2006
Posts: 2715
7 Dec. 2008

Funny, funny. And a lot of respectability.
Karlheinz for sure is emulating his fellow-composer Stockhausen when He is yowling.
Frederic on the contrary must be huffy for not being rigged out with a K for He thinks He is a Prince of Freiburg im Brisgau and dreams of a princess named Gwendo.
Meowing at you during your many Advent Sundays.
Funny, funny. And a lot of respectability. Karlheinz for sure is emulating his fellow-composer Stockhausen when He is yowling. Frederic on the contrary must be huffy for not being rigged out with a K for He thinks He is a Prince of Freiburg im Brisgau and dreams of a princess named Gwendo. Meowing at you during your many Advent Sundays.
AhQ ['a: kiu]
User since 2006
Posts: 2715
7 Dec. 2008

Hullo Gwendo!
The cat started to purr because it enjoyed to be taken as a human person. Considered as good-for-nothing an animal is grammatically neutral. But held in high esteem so as to be called as a human being, it turns grammatically sexualized, since rigged out with a male or female gender.

For my part all animals are "it-animals" because I don't cultivate any worship for animals. But some people do. I know a young girl who has got a cat. She speaks about it as "he" because her cat is a big male tomcat.
Most people who have pets consider them as persons whose sex is with relevance pointed out in their name, sometimes a human name. So it goes with some other animals than pets, like horses for instance. Do some snakes enjoy the same human first-rank? It might be for some people breed snakes.

I know you haven't got a pet, Gwendo. If you had, you wouldn't wonder about the gender.
Be lucky with or without a pet.
Hullo Gwendo! The cat started to purr because it enjoyed to be taken as a human person. Considered as good-for-nothing an animal is grammatically neutral. But held in high esteem so as to be called as a human being, it turns grammatically sexualized, since rigged out with a male or female gender. For my part all animals are "it-animals" because I don't cultivate any worship for animals. But some people do. I know a young girl who has got a cat. She speaks about it as "he" because her cat is a big male tomcat. Most people who have pets consider them as persons whose sex is with relevance pointed out in their name, sometimes a human name. So it goes with some other animals than pets, like horses for instance. Do some snakes enjoy the same human first-rank? It might be for some people breed snakes. I know you haven't got a pet, Gwendo. If you had, you wouldn't wonder about the gender. Be lucky with or without a pet.

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