Countries and nationalities in English: terms of use and 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 obey the use of geographical names and their derivatives, we will consider below using tables.

How are countries and nationalities formed in English?

So, let's start from the very beginning. Countries and nationalities in English are formed using the endings of adjectives. What are these endings? Consider below:

• -ish - Poland - Polish (Poland - Polish);
• -ian - Hungary - Hungarian (Hungary - Hungarian);
• -ese - China - Chinese (China - Chinese);
• -an - Korea - Korean (Korea - Korean);
• -i - Pakistan - Pakistani (Pakistan - Pakistani);
• the endings that are used to form one nationality need to be remembered, as they are exceptions, for example France - French (France - French).

What prepositions should be used with geographical names?

With the names of countries used prepositions to, in and from. This is one of the difficult topics for beginners to study in the framework of the “Countries and Nationalities” program. In English, as in Russian, the use of a preposition depends on what the speaker wants to say.

• To is the preposition of the direction, translated as in, in, to .
• From - the preposition of the direction, 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 all types of sentences. Examples with translation are given below.

So, consider countries and nationalities in English. The table of prepositions with geographical names is presented to your attention.

How are the names of countries and nationalities grammatically correct?

When learning English, many students make serious mistakes in 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 a subject or language, an adjective is used to indicate nationality, if it does not coincide with the adjective, you must use the corresponding word and in no case replace it with the name of the country.

• When designating a people, you need to use the article the: Russian - the Russians (Russian - Russian), American - the Americans (American - Americans).
• If the adjective-nationality ends in -i, -ese, -ss, -ch, -sh, then the ending -s is not added to it - the Iraqi (Iraqis), the Japanese (Japanese), the Swiss (Swiss), the French (French), the Scottish (Scots).
• The use of an adjective denoting nationality without the article the is possible if you add the word people to it: 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 are encountered in the study. What is its feature? For some countries, nationality and adjective are the same, therefore, one word is written in the corresponding column. If nationality is indicated by another word, it is spelled out in the same column.

Key holding exercises

We examined 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, perform exercises to consolidate the material, and then check the correct answers for the keys.

Exercise 1. Use a grammatically correct word.

1. Kangaroo is a native Australia / Australian animal.

2. I have been to Spain / Spanish several times.

3. I'd like to go to an authentic China / Chinese restaurant.

4. Russia / Russian isn't a member of EU.

5. Japan \ Japanese is a very difficult language.

6. I would like to go to Britain / British one day.

7. Do you need a visa to go to Poland / Polish?

8. We are going to the Switzerland / Swedish in winter.

9. The Brazilia / Brazilian carnival is a very exciting event.

10. Beijing is a capital of Chinese / China.

Exercise 2. Use a grammatically correct preposition.

1. Pizza is ... Italy.

2. Paris is ... France.

3. My boss went for vacation ... Turkey.

4. Where is Ann ...? Is she ... Canada?

5. We are Brazilians. We are ... Rio de Janeiro.

6. Do you think it is interesting ... Disneyland?

7. They will go ... Venezia for their summer holiday.

8. Where were you last week-end? Did you go ... Moscow?

9. I like sushi. I tried it when I was ... Japan.

The keys.

Exercise 1.

1. Kangaroo Australian animal (Australian).

2. I have been to Spain several times (Spain).

3. I want to visit a real Chinese restaurant (Chinese).

4. Russia is not a member of the European Union (Russia).

5. Japanese is a very difficult language. (Japanese).

6. I would like to go to Britain one day.

7. Do I need a visa to travel to Poland (Poland)?

8. We are going to Switzerland in the winter (Switzerland).

9. The Brazilian carnival is one of the most exciting events (Brazilian).

10. Beijing is the capital of China .

Exercise 2.

1. From. (Pizza from Italy.)

2. In. (Paris in France.)

3. To. (My boss went on vacation to Turkey.)

4. From, from. (Where is Anna? Is she from Canada?)

5. From. (We are Brazilians. We are from Rio de Janeiro.)

6. In. (Do you think Disneyland is interesting?)

7. To. (They will go to Venice for the summer holidays.)

8. To. (Where were you last weekend? Did you go to Moscow?)

9. In. (I love sushi. I tried them when I was in Japan.)