Proper Adjectives, Part 1
2022-08-20
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1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question from Gustavo in Brazil about using proper adjectives to describe someone.
2Hello, my name is Gustavo, from Brazil.
3I have been learning English with you for many years.
4Thank you for all of the stories!
5I have a question.
6I want to say, "my Spanish teacher" meaning "my teacher from Spain".
7Then I realized that it could also mean "my teacher that teaches Spanish language classes."
8So, which is it? Does it mean both
9Thank you very much for reading my message!
10Thanks for your question and for reading our website so often.
11In English, we have a limited number of adjectives to describe what language someone speaks or teaches, or where they are from.
12However, we can use proper adjectives and prepositions as well as other structures to help our understanding.
13Let us start with proper adjectives.
14Proper adjectives come from proper nouns, which are words or groups of words that name a specific person, place or thing.
15Proper nouns and adjectives begin with a capital letter, so they are easy to spot.
16Proper adjectives that describe a country of origin or language come from their proper nouns.
17These adjectives mean "of or relating to the country, its people, language or culture."
18"Spanish" means relating to Spain.
19So we can talk about "Spanish people" and "Spanish culture."
20"Spanish" is also the proper adjective to describe the language of Spain.
21Generally, when we talk about teaching or learning a language, we use the proper adjective of the language to describe the teacher or student. For example,
22I am an English teacher.
23I teach English, but I am not from England; I am from the U.S.
24In your question, the proper adjective of "Spanish" is modifying the noun "teacher."
25Therefore, a "Spanish teacher" means someone who teaches the Spanish language.
26We can use the preposition "from" to describe where our language teachers are originally from.
27My Russian teacher is from the country of Georgia.
28Her French teacher is from Canada.
29Using the preposition "from" makes the sentence clearer by providing more information.
30Next week, we will continue talking about proper adjectives and other ways to describe your teacher!
31Please let us know if these examples and explanations have helped you, Gustavo!
32What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
33And that's Ask a Teacher.
34I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question from Gustavo in Brazil about using proper adjectives to describe someone. 2Question: 3Hello, my name is Gustavo, from Brazil. 4I have been learning English with you for many years. Thank you for all of the stories! 5I have a question. I want to say, "my Spanish teacher" meaning "my teacher from Spain". Then I realized that it could also mean "my teacher that teaches Spanish language classes." 6So, which is it? Does it mean both 7Thank you very much for reading my message! 8Gustavo 9Answer: 10Thanks for your question and for reading our website so often. 11In English, we have a limited number of adjectives to describe what language someone speaks or teaches, or where they are from. However, we can use proper adjectives and prepositions as well as other structures to help our understanding. 12Using proper adjectives 13Let us start with proper adjectives. Proper adjectives come from proper nouns, which are words or groups of words that name a specific person, place or thing. Proper nouns and adjectives begin with a capital letter, so they are easy to spot. 14Proper adjectives that describe a country of origin or language come from their proper nouns. These adjectives mean "of or relating to the country, its people, language or culture." 15"Spanish" means relating to Spain. So we can talk about "Spanish people" and "Spanish culture." "Spanish" is also the proper adjective to describe the language of Spain. 16Generally, when we talk about teaching or learning a language, we use the proper adjective of the language to describe the teacher or student. For example, 17I am an English teacher. 18I teach English, but I am not from England; I am from the U.S. 19In your question, the proper adjective of "Spanish" is modifying the noun "teacher." Therefore, a "Spanish teacher" means someone who teaches the Spanish language. 20Using "from" 21We can use the preposition "from" to describe where our language teachers are originally from. 22My Russian teacher is from the country of Georgia. 23Her French teacher is from Canada. 24Using the preposition "from" makes the sentence clearer by providing more information. 25Next week, we will continue talking about proper adjectives and other ways to describe your teacher! 26Please let us know if these examples and explanations have helped you, Gustavo! 27What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com 28And that's Ask a Teacher. 29I'm Faith Pirlo. 30Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 31____________________________________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33realize - v. to understand or become aware of something 34origin - n. the cause of something or where something comes from 35_____________________________________________________________________ 36Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 37Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.