What’s a Noun, Anyway?
A noun is simply a naming word. It names a person, an animal, a
place, or a thing. For example: teacher, dog, park, pencil. With-
out nouns, our sentences would sound very
strange!
Nouns can be sorted into many
types. Today, we’ll explore two
of them — Gender Nouns
and Collective
Nouns.
How to Remember Gender Words
f Pair them up: Think of masculine and feminine in pairs — actor–
actress, prince–princess, rooster–hen.
f Spot the endings: Many feminine words end in -ess (like host-
ess), -ine (like heroine), or -trix (like aviatrix).
f Think of stories: Imagine a king and queen in a castle — con-
nect the image to remember the words.
f For neuter gender, remember:
if it cannot breathe, eat, or
grow, it usually belongs
here.
Manchester City is back to winning ways. Manchester United is back
to square one. City utterly dominated the 197th Man chester derby,
winning 3-0 on another humbling
day for United coach Ruben
Amorim. It could have been
so much worse for the red
half of Manchester as City
threatened to turn it into a
rout at the Etihad Stadium.
Haaland scored twice
in the second half and
also hit the post to make
it seven goals in a week
following the Wve he hit for
Norway against Moldova on
Tuesday. AP
A faltering Bangladesh will face a stern trial by s pin in their do-
or-die Group B clash against Afghanistan in the Asi a Cup
in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. The Litton Das-led side op ened
their campaign on a bright note with a commanding
win over Hong Kong, but their momentum came
crashing down with a heavy defeat to Sri Lanka that
left them third on the points table. With Afghanist an
(4.700) comfortably ahead on net run rate and Sri
Lanka (2.595) occupying second place in Group B,
Bangladesh (-0.650) must win their Wnal match to st ay
alive in the tournament.
Batting a concern Their batting, however, remains a
big concern. Against Sri Lanka, the top order faile d
miserably before Jaker Ali and Shamim Hossain
salvaged the innings with an unbeaten 86-run
partnership for the sixth wicket. Once again, the
spotlight will be on skipper Litton Das, who struck a half-
century against Hong Kong, to deliver runs at the t op.
Waiting for them now is Afghanistan’s potent spin
attack of captain Rashid Khan, veteran Mohammad
Nabi, left-arm sensation Noor Ahmad, and the
emerging AM Ghazanfar, a combination tailor-
made for prevailing conditions.
Strong line-up On the other hand, Afghanistan
carry the conWdence of a recent victory over
Pakistan and two wins against UAE in the tri-
series. They began their Asia Cup campaign
with a 94-run thrashing of Hong Kong. Not
only do they possess a versatile bowling
attack, their batting line-up also blends
destructive power with classical poise.
Such is their depth that they rotated
half their side in a dead rubber against
UAE before the tri-series Wnal and still
emerged victorious. PTI
Bangladesh face trial by spin in do-or-die
Asia Cup clash against Afghanistan
Picture PerfectPicture Perfect
Rai Benjamin of the U.S. in action with Costa
Rica’s Gerald Drummond during heat 4 of Men’s
400m Hurdles Round 1 during World Athletics
Championships at Japan National Stadium, To-
kyo, Japan - Tokyo 2025.
REUTERS
Whatever be the
sport you love,
here’s a quiz to
test your mettle
and celebrate the
spirit of sports.
1. In Real Madrid’s 2-1
win against Real So -
ciedad, who opened
the scoring in the
12th minute?
a. Vinícius Júnior
b. Kylian Mbappé
c. Arda Guler
d. Luka Modrih
2. Against which team did
Bangladesh lose after
being bowled out cheap -
ly in their Asia Cup group
match?
a. India
b. Afghanistan
c. Sri Lanka
d. Uzbekistan
3. By how much was Indian
wrestler Aman Sehrawat
overweight during the
World Championship
weigh-in?
a. 0.5 kg
b. 1.0 kg
c. 1.7 kg
d. 2.5 kg
Answer: bAnswer: cAnswer: b
Collective Nouns
Simple Clues to
Remember Gender and
Group Words Together
Sometimes, we don’t want to list every sin -
gle person or thing. Instead, we use one word
for the whole group. That’s a collective noun.
Easy Tricks for Collective Nouns
f Link to what you see: Picture a school
of Wsh swimming together in your head.
f Use rhymes or patterns: Pride of lions
sounds royal, so it’s easier to recall.
f Group by place: Birds? Think aock.
Cows? Think herd. People at work?
Crew or stat.
American teen Jovic claims first
WTA title at Guadalajara Open
American Iva Jovic captured her Wrst WTA Tour-level title with a 6-4 6-1
win over Colombia?s Emiliana Arango in the Wnal of the
Guadalajara Open. The 17-year-old Californian,
who entered the WTA 500
hardcourt tournament ranked
73rd, became the youngest
player to win the title, and
the youngest American to
clinch a tour-level crown since
Coco Gaut triumphed in Parma
in 2021. With the win, Jovic also
breaks into the Top 50 when
the rankings are released on
Monday. Jovic had warm words for
Arango, who also Wnished runner-
up in Merida in February and is still
seeking her Wrst WTA title. Reuters
Spain rallied from 2-0
down against Denmark
on Sunday to win
3-2 and qualify for
the tennis Davis
Cup Final 8, but
there was to be no
such comeback
for Australia as it
lost 3-2 to Belgium.
Czechia overcame
Taylor Fritz and the
United States on Saturday
by Wghting back from a match down to win 3-2 in Florida. The United
States, who are 32-time champions, were thus ousted. Spain, without
top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, had lost the opening two rubbers and also
found itself a set down in the doubles before Jaume Munar and Pedro
Martinez beat August Holmgren and Johannes Ingildsen 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
to keep the hosts alive in Marbella. Martinez also faced match point —
which would have sent Denmark through ? in the Wrst reverse singles
match before seeing out a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (3) win over Holger Rune. AP
Spain rallies to reach the
Davis Cup Final 8; United
States eliminated
Beyond the
Textbook
Manchester City humble
Man United with dominating
play in Premier League
PREVIEW
Gender and
The Philosopher King of Chess
Emanuel Lasker (1868–1941) was a German chess playe r,
mathematician, and philosopher. He was the second W orld Chess
Champion, holding the title for an astonishing 27 y ears (1894–1921)—
the longest reign in chess history. Known for
his psychological approach to the game,
Lasker often played moves that unsettled
his opponents, making him both feared
and admired. Beyond chess, he was also a
mathematician, philosopher, and writer,
blending intellect with creativity.
fWorld Chess Champion (1894–1921) – longest reign ever.
fDefeated greats like Wilhelm Steinitz, Frank Marshall,
Siegbert Tarrasch, and Carl Schlechter.
fWon several elite tournaments, including St. Petersburg
1895–96 and New York 1924.
fMade contributions to mathematics, publishing work on
algebra.
fLasker was friends with Albert Einstein, who admired his
intellect.
fHe once gave up chess for several years to focus on
mathematics.
fHe was also passionate about card games and even wrote a
book on bridge.
fHis style was considered unpredictable, earning him a
reputation as a “trickster” at the board.
fAuthored inauential books like Common Sense in Chess
(1896) and Lasker’s Manual of Chess (1925).
Fun facts about legendFun facts about legend
Achievements
Fun Facts
Words for male Males (peo-
ple or animals) Example:
boy, king, tiger, uncle.
Words for Females (people
or animals) Example: girl,
queen, tigress, aunt.
Words that can be used for
male or female. Example:
child, friend, student, doctor.
Words for non-living things
or objects. Example: book,
chair, river, car.
f A team of players
f A bunch of grapes
f A flock of birds
f A bouquet of flowers
f A library of books
Masculine
Gender
Feminine
Gender
Common
Gender
Neuter
Gender
Mohammed Siraj declared as ICC Men’s Player
of the Month for August 2025
Mohammed Siraj has been awarded the ICC Men’s Player of
the Month for August 2025 for his persistent, match-winning spell
against England in The Oval Test, which was the only match he was a
part of, in the month, as per the ofcial website of ICC. An outstanding
spell by Siraj, where he picked up nine wickets at an average of 21.11
across both innings, helped India to not just win the Test from a tricky
situation but also made sure the well-fought series ended at 2-2.
The fast bowler was also named the Player of the Match in the
Wnal Test for his etorts, which included a Wve-wicket haul in
the second innings, bowling 46 overs in the Test. ANI
In grammar, gender doesn’t mean
clothing or hobbies — it’s just a way
to group nouns as male, female, both, or
neither.
Gender NounsGender Nouns
– Boy or Girl?– Boy or Girl?
Collective Collective
Nouns Nouns – Words – Words
for a Whole Groupfor a Whole Group
Name the Gender
1. Lion
2. Teacher
3. Table
4. Niece
5. Calf
Name the Group
1. Bees
2. Players
3. Keys
4. Ships
5. Sheep
Game 1 Game 2
Answers: Game 1 – 1.Masculine, 2.Common,
3.Neuter 4.Feminine, 5.Common
Answers: Game 2 – 1.Swarm, 2.Team, 3.Bunch
4.Fleet, 5.Flock
The Takeaway
Kno wing a noun’ s gender helps y ou choose the right w ords in
sen tences. Knowin g collec tive nouns he lps you sound clear
and ConWde nt. With pr actice, spot ting them wil l feel as eas y
as spo tting y our b est friend in the playground!
400-420 words
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TUESDAY , SEPTEMBER 16, 2025
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