Names of countries are proper nouns. We can turn these proper nouns into proper adjectives. The proper adjectives are always capitalized, and they modify a noun.
Japan is a proper noun naming a country in Asia. We can turn the proper noun Japan into the proper adjective Japanese by adding the letters –ese.
William went to Japan and studied the Japanese language.
Here are other proper nouns that add –ese to become proper adjectives:
Brian traveled to China where he worked for a Chinese company.
The Lebanese people live in Lebanon.
Jim learned about the Vietnamese culture when he traveled to Vietnam.
Other proper nouns add the letters –ish when they become proper adjectives.
In Spain, I heard people speaking the Spanish language.
Here are more proper nouns that add -ish to become proper adjectives:
When we visited Sweden, we enjoyed Swedish sweet rolls.
In Ireland, we bought some sweaters knitted from Irish wool.
While we were in Poland, we often ate Polish sausage.
Some proper nouns add –ese or –ish when they become proper adjectives.
▶It’s your turn. Find the proper noun in the first sentence. Write the correct proper adjective into the blank of the second sentence. William Shakespeare lived in England. He was an ______ poet and playwright. Did you figure out which word to put in the blank? Good for you!