2015-08-21
2670
When adjectives function as nouns denoting groups of people or things they are called substantivized adjectives. They can be partially substantivized (i.e. acquiring only some of the morphological characteristics of nouns) or fully substantivized (i.e. can be used with all articles).
| MEANING | FORM | ARTICLE | VERB | EXAMPLE |
| PARTIALLY | ||||
| - abstract notions - groups of persons | Sing. | the | sing. | the beautiful, the unknown. |
| pl. | the rich, the blind, the old | |||
| WHOLLY | ||||
| - languages (treated as abstract uncounts) | Sing. | zero the, a | sing. | Russian; the English we use; His was a nervous, graphic English |
| - persons (social, political, national, etc. characteristics) treated as counts | Sing. & pl. | a the zero | sing. & pl. | an ordinary ― ordinaries a liberal ― liberals an Indian ― Indians a private ― privates |
| - colours (uncounts, shades – counts) | Sing. & pl. | zero the, a | sing. & pl. | grey; the grey of the earth; The trees were turning yellows and reds. |
| - studies and examinations | Pl. | zero the | sing. & pl. | finals, practicals; politics, phonetics, mathematics |
| - substances, collections of things | Pl. | zero the | pl. (& sing.) | movables, valuables, greens, chemical(s) |
Note 1: When a substantivized adjective denotes a group of people (e.g. the rich, the wise, etc.), it is always in the plural. If we want to indicate a single person or a number of persons, we must add a noun.
The old man receives a pension.
The young man is fishing.
Note 2: Some adjectives denoting nationalities and ending in – (i)sh: British, English, Irish, Welsh; in –ch: Dutch, French and in –ese: Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and the adjective Swiss are used with the definite article to form a substantivized adjective in the plural: the English, the Japanese. In other cases we should use the + the plural form: the Canadians, the Russians, the Americans.
