4. Nationalities, countries and regions

In order to refer to a nation or region it is usually necessary to know four words:

  • The name of the country or region (Spain, Japan, France).
  • The adjective (Spanish, Japanese, French).
  • The singular noun used for a person for the country (a Spaniard, a Japanese, a Frenchman/woman).
  • The plural expression "the.." used for the population as a whole (the Spanish, the Japanese, the French).

All words in this field (including adjectives) begin with capital letters. The name of a national language is often the same as the national adjective. More often than not, the singular noun is the same as the adjective and the plural expression is the same as the adjective+s. However, there are a number of exceptions (e.g. Spaniard and Spanish). Below you can find more exceptions:

Country
  Adjective Person Population
Britain
British
a British person/a Briton
the British
England
 English
 an Englishman/woman
the English
France
 French
 a Frenchman/woman the French
Ireland
 Irish
 an Irishman/woman the Irish
Denmark
 Danish
 a Dane
 the Danes
Finland
 Finnish
 a Finn
 the Finns
Poland
 Polish
 a Pole
 the Poles
Scotland
 Scottish
 a Scot
 the Scots
Sweden
 Swedish
 a Swede
 the Swedes
Turkey
 Turkish
 a Turk
 the Turks
Wales Welsh
 a Welshman/woman the Welsh
The Netherlands/Holland
 Dutch
 a Dutchman/woman the Dutch
Spain
 Spanish a Spaniard the Spanish

 

Check the wikipedia for a comprehensive list of adjectives and nouns for place names.

Listen to the Alphabet of Nations by They Might Be Giants. Which nation among the ones mentioned is a bit peculiar?

 

Importante

  • What is the difference between Arab, Arabian and Arabic? 

Arab: relates to the people, places and culture of the Arab world. Examples include: Arab cuisine, the Arab League, Arabs in the Diaspora, Arab influence in Western Music, etc.

Arabic: specifically relates to the written and spoken language of the Arab world. Examples: Arabic literature, Arabic influences in English, dialects of Arabic, etc.

Arabian: historic or literary in its relation to people or things of the Arab world. Examples: the Arabian nights, under the Arabian moonlight. Current usage of the word, however, is found in these examples: Arabian Peninsula, Arabian Sea and Arabian (horse).

  • When do we use the adjective Scotch instead of Scottish?

Scotch is only applied to specific products, usually food or drink, such as Scotch whisky, Scotch pie, Scotch broth, Scotch tape, or Scotch eggs.

AV - Actividad de Espacios en Blanco

Russell Crowe
Imagen de Marco Verch en Flickr bajo licencia CC

Give the nationality of the following people using he/she is a ...

 

Bjon Borg, tennis player is a .

Pablo Picasso, artist, is a .

Hans Christian Andersen, story-teller, is a .

Lech Walesa, trade union leader, is a .

Kemal Attaturk, national hero, is a .

Alexander Graham Bell, inventor, is a .

Alvar Aalto, architect, is a .

Franz Kafka, writer, is a .

Russell Crowe, actor, is a .

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