kati (this_bugs_4_you) wrote in linguaphiles,
kati
this_bugs_4_you
linguaphiles

adjectives without a noun?

so my boss and i were discussing a point in english grammar yesterday--the possibility of having an adjective without a noun. i don't know the technical way of saying it, so let me give an example. in spanish, for example, you could say something along the lines of:

"which shoes do you want?"
"los rojos"....(which would mean, "the red ones")

but in english we wouldn't say "the reds." at least as far as i know, in my midwestern-US based english.

but i got to thinking about it, and a few examples ocurred to me of this situation happening, where there is an nounless adjective, and it making sense. for example, "the new york school for the blind" or something along those lines. also, in the bible, we have "blessed are the pure in heart."

what i'm wondering is if there is any other instance of this happening, other than when it refers to PEOPLE (as both of those examples do). those are the only examples i could think of so far, and i don't even know if they're technically correct.

any other thoughts? grazie, people!
Subscribe

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    Anonymous comments are disabled in this journal

    default userpic

    Your reply will be screened

    Your IP address will be recorded 

  • 31 comments