7 Continents

Posted by: Josef Essberger
Continents are names with initial capitals

There are seven continents.

The word “continent” comes from the Latin “terra continens”, meaning “continuous land”.

Like countries, continents are proper nouns. That means they are “names” and the first letter must be a CAPITAL letter. Even for the adjective, the first letter is always a capital:

Continent: Africa
Adjective: African
Person:    an African

Continent: Asia
Adjective: Asian
Person:    an Asian

Continent: Australia
Adjective: Australian
Person:    an Australian

Continent: Europe
Adjective: European
Person:    a European

Continent: North America
Adjective: North American
Person:    a North American

Continent: South America
Adjective: South American
Person:    a South American

Continent: Antarctica
Adjective: Antarctic
Person:    –

Isn’t it strange? We have a word for somebody who comes from the planet Mars (a Martian), but there is no word for somebody who comes from Antarctica!

You’ll find more vocabulary for continents and countries here.



Posted by Josef Essberger May 2023
Josef Essberger, founder EnglishClub Contributor: Josef Essberger, founder of EnglishClub. Originally from London, England, Josef is the author of several books for learners of English including English Prepositions List and Learn English in 7.

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