Nationalities / Countries

Learn how to discuss people and things from different places in the world.
Sound Grammar

Nationalities / Countries

Watch four conversations using the grammar on elllo.org.

Answer the following grammar questions.

Languages and Nationalities

Point 1: The names of countries, languages, and people from a country always begin with a capital letter.
  1. I am from Germany.
  2. He can speak French.
  3. I love Thai food.
Point 2: The adjective form of a country is used to describe people, languages, and items from that country.
  1. People speak Spanish in Spain.
  2. She is Italian but does not speak Italian.
  3. We bought a Japanese car in Japan.

Nationalities

Point 3: Nationalities often follow patterns in English, but there are many exceptions. It is best to learn them case-by-case. Below are some common patterns.

-ese (No change for singular/plural)

  1. Japan – Japanese
  2. China – Chinese
  3. Thailand – Thai
  4. Portugal – Portuguese

Note: These words can describe people, languages, and items. No "s" is added for plural. Example: "They are Japanese."

-ish (Sometimes irregular spelling)

  1. Sweden – Swedish
  2. Spain – Spanish
  3. Poland – Polish
  4. Turkey – Turkish
  5. Finland – Finnish

Note: These words describe people, languages, and things. Example: "She is Spanish."

-i (Mostly Middle Eastern or South Asian)

  1. Pakistan – Pakistani
  2. Oman – Omani
  3. Saudi Arabia – Saudi
  4. Thailand – Thai

Note: No "s" is added for plural. Example: "They are Saudi."

-an (Spelling changes may happen)

  1. Germany – German
  2. Italy – Italian
  3. Mexico – Mexican
  4. Canada – Canadian
  5. Brazil – Brazilian
  6. Korea – Korean
  7. Colombia – Colombian

Note: These words often describe people and things. Example: "She is Mexican."

Other Forms

  1. France – French
  2. Greece – Greek
  3. Thailand – Thai
  4. Laos - Lao

Note: These do not follow regular patterns and should be memorized.

About the Teacher

My name is Todd Beuckens and I am an ESL teacher in Japan.

I created this site to provide teachers and students free audio lessons and learning materials not usually found in commercial textbooks.

Contact me here.