Vocabulary & Reading: Motherland, Countries & People
Words and short-text comprehension from culture/travel themes.
When we talk about other places and people, we use the names of countries, their capital cities and the words for the people who live there. The word for the people or the language is called a nationality, and we often build it from the country's name by adding an ending. For example, someone from France is French, someone from Italy is Italian, and someone from Spain is Spanish. Some nationalities are irregular, so we learn them as whole words: a person from England is English and a person from Azerbaijan is Azerbaijani. Travel words such as 'passport', 'tourist', 'capital', 'flag' and 'tradition' help us describe trips and the customs of a country. A tradition is a special way of doing something that families or countries have followed for a long time, such as a festival, a dance or a holiday meal. In a short reading text we look for the exact detail that answers the question, for example a name, a place or a number. The capital of Azerbaijan is Baku, the capital of France is Paris, and the capital of Italy is Rome.
Key terms
| Country | Nationality | Language |
|---|---|---|
| France | French | French |
| Italy | Italian | Italian |
| Spain | Spanish | Spanish |
| England | English | English |
| Turkey | Turkish | Turkish |
| Azerbaijan | Azerbaijani | Azerbaijani |
| Word / Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| tourist | A person who travels to visit places for fun. |
| passport | The document you need to travel to another country. |
| souvenir | A small gift you buy to remember a trip. |
| flag | A country's symbol made of cloth with special colours. |
| tradition | A special custom people have followed for a long time. |
| capital | The main city of a country. |
- 1Start with the country: Take the country name, for example Poland.
- 2Add the right ending: Many nationalities add an ending: France -> French, Italy -> Italian, Japan -> Japanese, Poland -> Polish.
- 3Watch for irregular words: Some are learned as whole words: England -> English, Azerbaijan -> Azerbaijani.
- 4Answer: Someone from Poland is Polish.
- 1Choose the word: Pick the word 'souvenir', which means a small gift you buy to remember a trip.
- 2Build a sentence: Place it in a clear sentence about travel: 'Tom bought a souvenir in Rome to remember his trip.'
- 3Check the meaning fits: A souvenir is a gift, not a suitcase or a map, so the sentence is correct.
Different countries use different endings: -ish (Spain -> Spanish, Poland -> Polish), -ian (Italy -> Italian), and -ese (Japan -> Japanese, China -> Chinese). Learn each one; there is no word 'Spainese' or 'Japanish'.
Do not mix up the country, the nationality and the language. Turkey is the country, but the people are Turkish and the language they speak is Turkish, so write 'People from Turkey speak Turkish.'
Always write nationalities and languages with a capital letter: French, Italian, Spanish, English, Azerbaijani.
Some nationalities are irregular and must be learned as whole words, such as England -> English and Azerbaijan -> Azerbaijani; you cannot guess 'Englandish' or 'Englander'.
Rules
- 1Many nationalities are formed from the country name: France -> French, Italy -> Italian, Poland -> Polish.
- 2Some nationalities are irregular and must be learned as whole words: England -> English, Azerbaijan -> Azerbaijani.
- 3A capital is the main city of a country (Azerbaijan -> Baku, France -> Paris, Italy -> Rome).
- 4Travel and culture words include 'tourist', 'passport', 'flag', 'capital', 'tradition' and 'souvenir'.
- 5In a reading text, find the exact word, name or number that answers the question.
Practice
10 easy · 10 medium · 10 hard
10 random questions per test