What gender and number is cats? - briefly
The word "cats" is plural and does not have a gender. It refers to multiple feline animals regardless of their individual genders.
What gender and number is cats? - in detail
The term "cats" is a plural noun in English. This means it refers to more than one cat. In grammatical terms, "cats" is in the plural number, indicating multiplicity. The singular form of "cats" is "cat," which refers to a single feline animal.
The gender of the word "cats" is neuter. In English grammar, nouns that refer to non-living things or animals are typically considered neuter. This means that pronouns used to refer back to "cats" would be "it" or "they," depending on whether the reference is singular or plural. For example, "The cats are sleeping. They look very comfortable." Here, "they" is used because "cats" is plural. If referring to a single cat, one would use "it": "The cat is sleeping. It looks very comfortable."
It is important to note that while the word "cats" itself does not have a gender in the sense that humans do, the individual cats referred to by this term can be male or female. The gender of individual cats is determined biologically and is not reflected in the grammatical gender of the noun "cats."
In summary, "cats" is a plural, neuter noun in English. It refers to multiple feline animals and does not carry gender specificity in the grammatical sense. The biological gender of individual cats can vary, but this is not indicated by the noun itself. Understanding these grammatical principles is essential for accurate and effective communication in English.