Final answer:
In English, 'table' and 'chair' are examples of masculine nouns referring to non-living things; however, English nouns do not have gender in the way some other languages do, and terms like 'actor' are becoming more gender-neutral to avoid bias.
Step-by-step explanation:
Among the nouns listed, table and chair are examples of masculine nouns that refer to non-living things. Actor, although often associated with males, is a profession that can be filled by any gender, and a book is a neuter noun. It is important to note that in English, inanimate objects like 'table' and 'chair' do not have a gender in the same way they might in other languages, such as Spanish or French.
However, nouns such as chairman represent a bias towards masculine forms in the English language, which has been shifting towards more gender-neutral terms such as 'chairperson' or 'chair' to avoid gender bias. Similarly, while the term actor was traditionally associated with males and actress with females, the profession itself is neutral, and more gender-blind language is becoming common.