Nationalities and Languages
A nationality is an adjective that agrees with the person, and a language name is the masculine form, written with a small letter.
How It Works
A nationality is an adjective. It agrees with the person: a man is francés, a woman is francesa.
| Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|
| francés | francesa |
| anglés | anglesa |
| polonés | polonesa |
| espanhòl | espanhòla |
| italian | italiana |
| alemand | alemanda |
For the plural, add -s: espanhòls, alemands. A masculine in -és takes -es: franceses, angleses. A plural that includes a man and a woman is masculine.
The name of a language is the masculine form: l'occitan, lo francés, l'anglés. After parlar it has no article: Parlam occitan.
Nationalities and languages are written with a small letter. Names of countries and cities keep their capital: França, Tolosa.
Examples (5)
- Joan es francés.
Joan is French.
Francés: the masculine form.
- Maria es francesa.
Maria is French.
Francesa: the feminine form.
- Zofia es polonesa.
Zofia is Polish.
Polonesa: the feminine of polonés.
- Joan e Pèire son alemands.
Joan and Pèire are German.
Alemands: the masculine plural.
- Parlam occitan e anglés.
We speak Occitan and English.
Language names: small letter, no article.
Common Mistakes
Using a capital letter for a language
Parli Occitan.Parli occitan.Occitan writes language names with a small letter.
Using the masculine form for a woman
Maria es francés.Maria es francesa.The adjective agrees with Maria, so it takes the feminine form.
How It Connects
Learn This First
A nationality is an adjective that follows èsser, so the feminine of adjectives and the present of èsser come first.
Related Patterns
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