Many foreigners say 'England' and 'English' when they mean 'Britain' and 'British'. This is very annoying for the people who live in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who are certainly not English, but Scots, Welsh or Irish!!!
However, the people from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England are all British. So what is the difference between the names 'Great Britain' and 'the United Kingdom' - and what about 'the British Isles'?
“Great” Britain
This is the name of the Island where England, Scotland and Wales are located. (It does not include Northern Ireland). The origin of the word 'Great' is a reference to size developed to avoid confusions, for there is a part of France also called “Bretagne”.
The United Kingdom
“United Kingdom” is an abbreviation of “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' -often further abbreviated to ‘UK’-, and is the political name of the country which is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. (Several islands off the British coast are also part of the United Kingdom) It is important to remember that Southern Ireland - that is the Republic of Ireland (also called 'Eire') is completely independent.
