When we talk about gender of some words, it is good to know that these words refer to nouns, of which we already know. If, by any chance, any doubt insists on appearing, how about remembering its function? To do this, just access the text "nouns”. Upon reviewing them, we found that they have several inflections, including gender, determined by male and female. Do not you remember? Well, access the text again "noun gender”.
Now that we've remembered the subject, let's address the central point of our discussion: the gender of some words in the Portuguese language that, for for many reasons, it causes doubts in most people, as they do not know which of the forms to use: if the female form or if the form male. So, so that we don't have any more doubts regarding this fact, let's look at some cases, considered the most common:
* Do we say lettuce or lettuce?
“Lettuce”, of course, as it is a feminine word.
* The slipper or the slipper?
We can consider both forms as correct, but the one that we use the most is “the slipper”.
* Guarana or guarana?
“Guarana” is a masculine word, therefore, it is correct to say “the guaraná”.
* The mousse or the mousse?
Two well-known dictionaries, the Aurélio and the Houaiss, consider the female form to be correct. Therefore, it is better to say “the mousse”.
* The omelet or the omelet?
In this case, it is good to know that the Aurélio dictionary considers the female form (the omelet) to be correct. However, VOLP (Orthographic Vocabulary of the Portuguese Language) and Houaiss say that it is a common noun of two genders (we distinguish the two forms only by using the article). As a result, it is concluded that both forms are considered correct, that is: “the omelet or the omelet”.
* Do or do?
That's right, when we feel sorry for something or someone, you know? As strange as it may seem, the correct thing is to use the masculine form, that is: “the do”.
Have you noticed how much our language reserves for us some surprises that we didn't even expect to find? It goes like this: the more we become knowledgeable, the more we are able to speak and write correctly.
By Vânia Duarte
Graduated in Letters
Kids School Team
