Quote:
Originally Posted by RonBee  In my country (USA) |
This is actually a very important point. It does depend a lot on context, and that can include what country you are in, but also the wider context of the sentence. Consider:
Paola is a Spanish doctor, Helmut is a German train-driver and Sid is an English teacher. [Sid is from England, and he is a teacher.]
Mike is a physics teacher, Jane is a history teacher and Maggie is an English teacher. [Maggie teaches English.]
When we are speaking, we stress the words slightly differently:
Sid is an English
teacher.
Maggie is an
English teacher.
In writing, you can't tell the difference, but the context will (usually) make it clear. If the context doesn't help, you might want to recast the sentences:
Sid is a teacher from England.
Maggie teaches English.