The + Adjective — Groups of People (The Elderly, The French)
Practice 'the + adjective' as a noun phrase meaning a group of people: the elderly, the rich, the homeless, the French, the British, the Japanese, the Dutch. Covers meaning and the obligatory plural verb agreement.
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The government should do more to support ___ elderly.
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the
'The + adjective' describes a group of people — 'the elderly' = elderly people.
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In many countries, ___ rich are getting richer.
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the
'The rich' means 'rich people' as a group.
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___ French are famous for their food and wine.
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The
'The + nationality' means the people of that country — 'the French'.
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___ Japanese have a long tradition of tea ceremonies.
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The
'The + nationality' means the people of that country — 'the Japanese'.
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___ British are well known for talking about the weather.
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The
'The British' means the people of Britain as a whole.
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Every winter, volunteers collect warm clothes for ___ homeless.
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the
'The homeless' means homeless people as a group.
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___ Dutch are known for cycling almost everywhere.
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The
'The Dutch' means the people of the Netherlands.
The + Adjective: Referring to Groups of People
The structure the + adjective creates a noun phrase meaning all people who share a given quality, without naming them individually. The elderly means 'elderly people in general'; the homeless means 'people who are homeless'. The same pattern applies to nationality adjectives: the French, the British, the Japanese, and the Dutch all mean 'the people of that country' as a whole. This construction is always grammatically plural, even though no plural noun is visible — the adjective itself stands in for a plural head noun ('rich' → 'rich people'). A frequent learner error is treating the phrase as singular and using a singular verb, since nothing in the surface form of the adjective signals plurality. The adjective never takes a plural -s ending of its own; only the verb that follows shows the plural agreement.
Quality and State Adjectives
In many countries, the rich are getting richer.
Every winter, volunteers collect warm clothes for the homeless.
Nationality Adjectives
Nationality adjectives that end in -ch, -sh, or -ese (not the regular -an/-ian noun forms) follow the same pattern to mean the people of that country as a whole.
The British are well known for talking about the weather.
The Japanese have a long tradition of tea ceremonies.
The Dutch are known for cycling almost everywhere.
Common Mistakes
✗ The rich is getting richer. → ✓ The rich are getting richer. (always plural verb)
✗ French are famous for their food. → ✓ The French are famous for their food.
✗ The Japanese has a long tradition of tea ceremonies. → ✓ The Japanese have a long tradition of tea ceremonies.
Last updated: · Satori Editorial