We say "the poor" but then we say "the Italians". If both are correct, I wonder why is not possible to say "the poors". Can you tell me the rule please?
Learn English – Generic plural. I need to know if there is a rule about it
adjectivesgeneric-noun-phrasesnominalizationsingular-vs-plural
Related Solutions
Well, of course it can be considered as a passive voice construction. The active voice equivalent is quite easy to find:
- I am surprised.
- Something (or someone) surprises me.
The sentence can be understood in this manner, but that doesn't mean that it can only be understood this way. There's another possibility:
- I am surprised.
- I am a surprised man.
The word "surprised" is a participle. Participles and participial phrases can modify nouns in much the same way as adjectives. Some grammar books simply call them adjectives when they're used this way.
If I am a happy man, I can simply say "I am happy." If I do say that, then "happy" can be understood as a predicate adjective subject complement.
We can understand the "surprised" of your original sentence in the same way.
As it happens, "surprised" is a stative verb -- or, at least, it's a verb that's often used in a stative sense. Both the passive voice interpretation and the subject complement interpretation are available for your original sentence. For a stative verb, the subject complement interpretation is likely to be more useful and, for many, the more obvious interpretation.
it's not a matter of which interpretation is correct. Both are correct. It's only a matter of which interpretation makes more sense in context. If you can see both interpretations easily, then you should be able to easily choose between them as context requires. You may also find that, in many contexts, the overall meaning of the entire passage won't change no matter which interpretation you choose.
You may also want to note that "to be" isn't the only possible copular verb. There's a handful of verbs that work in copular constructions:
- He is surprised.
- He seems surprised.
- He looks surprised.
- He sounds surprised.
You're free to interpret "He is surprised" as a passive voice construction. For every other verb that fits this same pattern (and my examples are far from exhaustive) only the subject complement interpretation is obvious.
I believe #3 will sound best and most natural to a native speaker. I would use two articles if I wanted to draw attention to some distinction between the chapters. For example:
The first chapter is difficult and the second chapter is difficult and long. In this sentence it would sound awkward to leave out the second "the".
It is not incorrect to use just one "the" as in your version #3, nor is it incorrect to use two. You may use the article twice, but to a native speaker it will sound stilted.
On the other hand, sometimes that is the effect you want. For example, if your neighbor is angry because you are playing loud music late at night, he might want to emphasize the distinct number of times he has asked you to turn down your music:
"I asked you politely the first time and the second time to turn down your music. The third time will not be polite."
But in normal everyday conversation you would just say,
"I asked him politely the first and second time, but the third time I punched him in the jaw."
Best Answer
Poor is an adjective.
Sometimes we use an adjective such as poor as if it were a noun. But when we do, we mean the poor as a class of people, meaning the poor ones. Even without the word ones, the poor is considered plural. So we do not add an s to it.
The ony way to make the poor singular is to put a singular noun after it: the poor boy. If you wanted to refer to more than one poor boy you could say poor boys.
Adjectives that work this way include poor, rich, meek, wealthy... Grammarly lists the following examples as adjectives that work this way:
However, other adjectives used as nouns can mean a single person or thing: the former, the accused, the deceased. We have the option of putting ones after them and they will be plural: the former ones. But we still would not say the formers. In general, adjectives--even when used as a noun--cannot be pluralized.
So, yes, the dead is plural and is short for the dead ones and the deceased is short for the deceased one and is usually singular (but it can be plural: the deceased ones.). There is no rule, to my knowledge, for why this is so, other than how the language has developed over time.
Adjectives that refer to nationalities follow a different pattern.
Italian is used as both a noun and an adjective. In the Italian boy it is an adjective. In the Italian played a great game it is a noun. I think really the only way we know this is that you can pluralize it: The Italians played a great game. Not all names of nationalities work this way: it is rare to see the English used as a singular noun.