Nouns referring to countries and their people

To refer to a nation and its people, we need to know four words:

1. The name of the country

Examples: France, Germany, India, Europe, Asia

2. The adjective used to refer to that country

Examples: French, German, Indian, European, Asian

3. The singular noun used for a person from the country

Examples: a Frenchman / woman, a German, an Indian, a European, an Asian

4. The plural expression used for the population as a whole

Examples: the French, the Germans, the Indians, the Europeans, the Asians

Notes

All words of this kind begin with a capital letter.

British history (NOT british history)

The name of the national language is often the same as the adjective used to refer to that nation.

French is easy to learn.

Can you speak Chinese?

Usually the noun used to refer to a person from the country is the same as the adjective used to refer to that country. Examples are: Indian, Chinese, Japanese etc.

Some common examples are given below.