The names of countries and continents are proper nouns. Sometimes we change a country’s or a continent’s name into a proper adjective by adding the letters –an or –ian.
The noun Asia becomes the adjective Asian. We had Asian food for dinner.
The noun Canada becomes the adjective Canadian. The Canadian flag has a red maple leaf.
The noun America becomes the adjective American. American cuisine is very eclectic.
The noun Mexico becomes the adjective Mexican. My family visited several Mexican landmarks.
The noun Russia becomes the adjective Russian. John is learning about Russian culture.
The noun Cuba becomes the adjective Cuban. We read about the Cuban missile crisis in class.
The noun Norway becomes the adjective Norwegian. Our Norwegian relatives are coming to visit.
The noun Austria becomes the adjective Austrian. That Austrian composer lived in Vienna.
The noun Australia becomes the adjective Australian. The Australian government issued a visa.
The noun India becomes the adjective Indian. A new restaurant with Indian food opened yesterday.
The noun Korea becomes the adjective Korean. They adopted a child from the Korean orphanage.
When changing a a country or continent’s name to an adjective, most times you will add -an or –ian.
▶It’s your turn. Fill in the blank of the second sentence with a proper adjective. My band director is from Africa. He enjoys teaching us _____ music. Did you figure out the correct form of the proper adjective for the blank? Good for you!