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Unit 2: English In A Minute
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Session 37

Have you ever wondered when you use adjectives without nouns? Watch Tom explain in this English In A Minute.

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    Activity 1
  1. Activity 1

Activity 1

Adjectives without nouns

Let Tom teach you how to use adjectives without nouns in this English In A Minute.

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Tom 

How can use adjectives without using a noun? Let's find out.
Normally, we use adjectives to describe a noun.

People is a noun.

Rich people have a lot of money.

Rich people are a group.

To describe a group of people with a shared quality, we can use an adjective without using a noun.

We just add the.

Then, we can delete the noun.

The rich have a lot of money.

Now, we have a plural expression.

We can say that poor people are the opposite of rich people.

Poor people have less money than rich people.

Or:
The poor have less than the rich.

This is a simple direct expression and it sounds very natural.

British people drink a lot of tea.

We can delete people [and] add the:

The British drink a lot of tea.

Adjectives without nouns

Normally, we use adjectives to describe a noun.

  • Unemployed people are looking for jobs.
  • Young people are interested in video games.

In these sentences, unemployed and young are adjectives.

Unemployed people and young people are a group. If you want to describe a group of people with a shared quality, we can use an adjective without using a noun. We need to add the in front of the adjective. Then you have a plural expression, for example: The young.

  • The unemployed are looking for jobs.
  • The young are interested in video games.

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