Education, Languages
Countries and nationalities in English: usage rules and a table with a list of geographical names
The topic "Countries and nationalities" in English is one of the first and easiest for beginners, since it allows you to work out the verb to be. Despite the ease, many make mistakes in the use of countries and nationalities. How to avoid them? What rules are governed by the use of geographical names and their derivatives, consider below with the help of tables.
How are countries and nationalities formed in English?
So, let's start from the very beginning. Countries and nationalities in English are formed by means of the endings of adjectives. What are the endings? Consider the following:
- -ish - Poland - Polish (Poland - Polish);
- -ian - Hungary - Hungarian (Hungary - Hungarian);
- -ese - China - Chinese (Chinese - Chinese);
- -an - Korea - Korean (Korea - Korean);
- -i - Pakistan - Pakistani (Pakistan - Pakistan);
- Endings that are used for the formation of one nationality, need to be remembered, since they are exceptions, for example France - French (France - French).
What prepositions should you use with geographical names?
With the names of countries prepositions to, in and from are used. This is one of the difficult topics for beginners, which is being studied in the framework of the program "Countries and nationalities". In English, as in Russian, the use of preposition depends on what the speaker wants to say.
- To - the preposition of the direction, is translated as in, to, to .
- From - the preposition of the direction, is translated as from, from .
- In - the preposition shows that the speaker is in this country, or something is happening in it.
These prepositions can be used at all times and in any types of sentences. Examples with translation are given below.
So, consider the countries and nationalities in English. Table of use of prepositions with geographical names is presented to your attention.
To | I want to go to Paris. (I want to go to Paris.) We were in India last year. (We were in India last year.) Will they go to Australia next year? (Will they go to Australia next year?) |
From | Alice is from France. (Alice from France.) I thought they were from Argentina. (I thought they were from Argentina) Where will your next posscard be from - Italy or Spain? (Where will your next postcard come from Italy or Spain?) |
In | Where is Beijing? - In China. (Where is Beijing? - In China.) Mr. Smith was in Hungary last week end? (Mr. Smith was in Hungary last week?) Will you be in Thailand next summer? (Will you be in Thailand next summer?) |
How are the names of countries and nationalities grammatically correct?
When studying English, many students make serious mistakes in the conversation. They can be avoided if you follow the grammar rules:
- The names of not only countries, but also nationalities and adjectives denoting something national, are always written with a capital letter.
- When describing an object or language, an adjective is used to denote a nationality, if it does not coincide with an adjective, the word corresponding to it should be used and in no case should it be replaced by the name of the country.
- When referring to the people, you should use the article: the - Russian (Russian - Russian), American - the Americans (American - Americans).
- If the adjective-nationality ends in -i, -ese, -ss, -ch, -sh, then the ending -s - the Iraqi, the Japanese, the Swiss (Swiss), the French (The French), the Scottish (Scots).
- The use of the adjective denoting nationality, without the article the is possible, if you add the word people: Italian people, Cninese people, Brazilian people, Arab people.
Table of countries and nationalities with translation
The table of countries and nationalities in English represents the most popular countries and nationalities that occur in the study. What is its peculiarity? For some countries, the nationality and the adjective coincide, so one word is written in the corresponding column. If the nationality is denoted by another word, it is written in the same box.
A country | Adjective / Nationality | Transfer |
Russia | Russian | Russia russian |
Great Britain | British / Briton, Brit | United Kingdom / British |
America (USA) | American | America / American |
Germany | German | Germany / German |
Italy | Italian | Italy / Italian |
Belgium | Belgian | Belgium / Belgian |
Brazil | Brazilian | Brazil / Brazilian |
Mexico City | Mexican | Mexico / Mexican |
Norway | Norwegian | Norway / Norwegian |
Latvia | Latvian | Latvia / Latvian |
United Kingdom | Lithuanian | Lithuania / Lithuanian |
Estonia | Estonian | Estonia / Estonian |
China | Chinese | China / Chinese |
Portugal | Portuguese | Portugal / Portuguese |
Switzerlnand | Swiss | Switzerland / Swiss |
Denmark | Danish / Dane | Denmark / Danish |
Finland | Finnish / Finn | Finland / Finnish |
Poland | Polish / Pole | Poland / Polish |
Scotland | Scottish / Scot, Scotsman, Scotswoman | Scotland / Scots |
Sweden | Swedish / Swede | Sweden / Swedish |
Turkey | Turkish / Turk | Turkey / Turkish |
France | French / Frenchman | France / French |
Spain | Spanish / Spaniard | Spain / Spanish |
Greece | Greek | Greece / Greek |
United Arab Emirates | Arab | UAE / Arabic |
Egypt | Egyptian | Egypt / Egyptian |
Israel | Israeli | Israel / Israeli |
Kazakhstan | Kazakh | Kazakhstan / Kazakh |
Mongolia | Mongolian | Mongolia / Mongolian |
Belarus | Byelorussian | Belarus / Byelorussian |
Ukraine | Ukrainian | Ukraine / Ukrainian |
Bulgaria | Bulgarian | Bulgaria / Bulgarian |
Korea | Korean | Korea / Korean |
India | Indian | India / Indian |
Thailand | Thai | Thailand / Thai |
Australia | Australian | Australia / Australian |
Canada | Canadian | Canada / Canadian |
Peru | Peruvian | Peru / Peruvian |
New Zealand | Zelanian | New Zealand / New Zealand |
Somalia | Somali | Somali / Somali |
Exercises for anchoring material with keys
We reviewed countries and nationalities in English. The table above contains the minimum number of countries that foreign language learners should know. Using it and the rules of use, follow the exercises to consolidate the material, and then check the correct answers for the keys.
Exercise 1. Use grammatically correct word.
Kangaroo is a native Australia / Australian animal.
I have been to Spain / Spanish several times.
I'd like to go to an authentic China / Chinese restaurant.
Russia / Russian is not a member of EU.
Japan \ Japanese is a very difficult language.
I would like to go to Britain.
Do you need a visa to go to Poland?
We are going to the Switzerland / Swedish in winter.
The Brazilia / Brazilian carnival is a very exciting event.
Beijing is a capital of Chinese / China.
Exercise 2. Use a grammatically correct preposition.
Pizza is ... Italy.
Paris is ... France.
My boss went for vacation ... Turkey.
Where is Ann ...? Is she ... Canada?
We are Brazilians. We are ... Rio de Janeiro.
Do you think it is interesting ... Disneyland?
They will go ... Venezia for their summer holiday.
Where were you last week-end? Did you go ... Moscow?
I like sushi. I tried it when I was ... Japan.
Keys.
Exercise 1.
Kangaroo is an Australian animal (Australian).
I was in Spain several times (Spain).
I want to visit a real Chinese restaurant (Chinese).
Russia is not a member of the European Union (Russia).
Japanese is a very complicated language. (Japanese).
I would like to go to Britain one day.
Do I need a visa to travel to Poland?
We are going to Switzerland in the winter (Switzerland).
The Brazilian carnival is one of the most exciting events (Brazilian).
Beijing is the capital of China .
Exercise 2.
From. (Pizza from Italy.)
In. (Paris in France.)
To. (My boss went on vacation in Turkey.)
From, from. (Where is Anna from, is she from Canada?)
From. (We are Brazilians, we are from Rio de Janeiro.)
In. (Do you think it's interesting at Disneyland?)
To. (They will go to Venice for the summer holidays.)
To. (Where were you last weekend? Did you go to Moscow?)
In. (I love sushi, I tried them when I was in Japan.)
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