Common mistakes: Nation

:Check the correct statement(s)

.It’s hard to tell which nation he comes from .It’s hard to tell which country he comes from

Nation

noun

.BAD: It’s hard to tell which nation he comes from .GOOD: It’s hard to tell which country he comes from

A person comes from, lives in, feels part of, etc a particular country (NOT nation)

.Some people in this country think that the leadership is too weak

.People living in former Soviet bloc countries are undergoing a difficult period of transition

Nation is less common than country and is mainly used when a country is considered as a political or economic structure

.Japan has become the richest nation in the world

Representatives from the world’s leading industrial nations will meet next month in Geneva

:Note the alternative

.I couldn’t tell his nationality