nationality as an adjective / noun?

Question

Hi,how do we know when a nationality used in a sentence is an adjective or a noun?thank you

Jim Jones · Accepted Answer

Hi Pucah,
Thank you for the link to the lesson from which your query comes.
I have copied and pasted some text from that lesson below:-
* Nationalities: adjectives versus nouns 
"Nationalities used as adjectives are NOT capitalised, whereas they are capitalised when used as nouns:

Ma petite amie est canadienne = My girlfriend is Canadian
Je connais un Canadien qui vit de l'autre côté de la rue = I know a Canadian who lives across the street.

Bonne continuation,
Jim

Patrice Haynes · Answer

If it starts with a common letter it's an adjective,if capital it is a noun.

Monsieur Pulkit · Answer

Bonjour Pucah,

I believe the answer to your question lies in the definition of a noun and an adjective. Where nationalities are used as nouns, they would directly represent a person/thing in that sentence. As noted in the example provided by Jim,

Je connais un Canadien qui vit de l'autre côté de la rue = I know a Canadian who lives across the street.

whereas

for an adjective, the nationality would describe a noun, as adjectives do:

Ma petite amie est canadienne = My girlfriend is Canadian

Keeping this in mind, anytime a nationality is used as a noun, it will be capitalized in French.

Hope this helps!