Articles with Jobs and Nationalities

Use a/an for jobs; usually no article with plural nationalities; special cases for groups.

beginner

When to Use

•When describing someone’s job: She is a nurse.
•When describing nationality as an adjective: He is Canadian.
•When talking about national groups: the Italians, the French.
•When talking about one person from a country: a Canadian, an Italian.

How to Form

Affirmative (+)

Job: a/an + singular job noun. Nationality adjective: no article. National group: the + plural (often).

Negative (-)

Do not use the + job for general identity unless you mean a specific person (the doctor we saw).

Question (?)

Is it a job (countable noun) or nationality adjective?

💡 Nationality as adjective: She is Italian (no article). As a noun: She is an Italian (less common, often sounds formal).

Examples

✓She is a doctor.

✗She is doctor.

Jobs are singular countable nouns and usually need a/an.

✓He is Brazilian.

✗He is a Brazilian (when you mean adjective identity)

Nationality adjectives generally take no article.

✓The French are famous for their food.

We use 'the' with some nationality groups to mean the people.

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

• If the word is a job noun (teacher, engineer), use a/an.
• If the word is an adjective (Italian, French), use no article.
• For groups: the + plural (the Italians), but check common patterns (the Chinese, the Japanese).

articles-definite-indefinite zero-article

Articles with Jobs and Nationalities

Use a/an for jobs; usually no article with plural nationalities; special cases for groups.

beginner

When to Use

•When describing someone’s job: She is a nurse.
•When describing nationality as an adjective: He is Canadian.
•When talking about national groups: the Italians, the French.
•When talking about one person from a country: a Canadian, an Italian.

How to Form

Affirmative (+)

Job: a/an + singular job noun. Nationality adjective: no article. National group: the + plural (often).

Negative (-)

Do not use the + job for general identity unless you mean a specific person (the doctor we saw).

Question (?)

Is it a job (countable noun) or nationality adjective?

💡 Nationality as adjective: She is Italian (no article). As a noun: She is an Italian (less common, often sounds formal).

Examples

✓She is a doctor.

✗She is doctor.

Jobs are singular countable nouns and usually need a/an.

✓He is Brazilian.

✗He is a Brazilian (when you mean adjective identity)

Nationality adjectives generally take no article.

✓The French are famous for their food.

We use 'the' with some nationality groups to mean the people.

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

• If the word is a job noun (teacher, engineer), use a/an.
• If the word is an adjective (Italian, French), use no article.
• For groups: the + plural (the Italians), but check common patterns (the Chinese, the Japanese).

articles-definite-indefinite zero-article

Articles with Jobs and Nationalities

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

Related

Articles with Jobs and Nationalities

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

Related

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

✗My brother is the engineer.

✗She is an English.

💡 Practice Tips

Related

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

✗My brother is the engineer.

✗She is an English.

💡 Practice Tips

Related