German grammar with the natural gender of what is described. However, since the diminutive forms ending in "-chen" or "-lein" are grammatically neuter, there exist several notable counterexamples such as "das Mädchen" ("girl") and "das Fräulein" ("miss"). Thus these are not illogical, whereas "das Weib" (old, regional or anthropological: woman; a cognate of the English "wife") is really an exception. Furthermore, in German, the gender of nouns without natural gender is not predictable. For example, the three common pieces of cutlery all have different genders: "das Messer" ("knife") is neuter, "die Gabel" ("fork") is feminine, and "der Löffel" ("spoon") is masculine. Students
Luke Messer Luke Messer Allen Lucas Messer (born February 27, 1969) is an American politician, lobbyist, and author who has represented Indiana's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party. Born in Evansville, Indiana, Messer is a graduate of Wabash College and Vanderbilt University Law School. After an unsuccessful run for the U.S. House in 2000, Messer served as the first executive director of the Indiana Republican Party from 2001 to 2005. Messer was appointed to serve in the Indiana House of Representatives in 2003, after State Representative W. Roland