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Tinanam0102 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

about the

Hi teachers,

To refer to all of the people or things. Then which form should we use?

The Canadian and the Canadians

Thanks
TN
  

Top answer

"the Canadian" refers to one person. "Canadians" refers to Canadian people in general. "the Canadians" refers to a specific group of Canadians or to Canadians in general, depending on context.

— GPY

  • "the Canadian" refers to one person.
  • "Canadians" refers to Canadian people in general.
  • "the Canadians" refers to a specific group of Canadians or to Canadians in general, depending on context.
  • None of these refer to "things" (unless you put the name of a thing after "Canadian", obviously).
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5 Answers
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"the Canadian" refers to one person. "Canadians" refers to Canadian people in general. "the Canadians" refers to a specific group of Canadians or to Canadians in general, depending on context. None of these refer to "things" (unless you put the name of a thing after "Canadian", obviously).
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Hi GPY,

The British can refer to the whole, why is it different with 'the Canadian'?

Thanks
TN
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tinanam0102Hi GPY,The British can refer to the whole, why is it different with 'the Canadian'?ThanksTN
It just happens that the nationality word 'British' has no singular form. We can have a British (adjective) person, British (adjective) people, and the British (noun). We cannot have a British (noun) or jus
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tinanam0102The British can refer to the whole, why is it different with 'the Canadian'?
Nationality words divide into the -ian (or -an) class and the non-ian class, chiefly -ish or -ese. These two classes are treated differently grammatically.

Examples:

1. Canadian, Italian, German, American, Indian, Russia
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Hi fivejedjon, hi CalifJim,

Thanks for the help. I understand now.

TN
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