106 The old, the rich, etc
There are some adjectives that we can use with the to talk about groups of people in society, e.g. the disabled, the blind. Here are some more examples.
What can we do to feed the hungry? The rich can afford to pay more taxes.
The young are usually keen to travel. It is our duty to care for the sick.
B What adjectives can we use?
These are some of the adjectives and other words that we can use in a phrase with the.
To do with social or economic position:
the disadvantaged, the homeless, the hungry, the poor, the privileged, the rich, the starving,
the strong, the underprivileged, the unemployed, the weak
To do with physical condition or health:
the blind, the deaf, the dead, the disabled, the handicapped, the living, the sick
To do with age:
the elderly, the middle-aged, the old, the over-sixties, the under-fives, the young
We can sometimes use an adverb before the adjective.
The very poor are left without hope. The severely disabled need full-time care. There are some adjectives in this structure that normally have an adverb.
The less fortunate cannot afford to go on holiday.
Should the mentally ill be allowed to live in the community?
C The young or the young people?
The young means 'young people in general'.
The young have their lives in front of them. When we mean a specific person or a specific group of people, then we use man, woman, people, etc.
There was a young man standing on the corner.
I know the young woman in reception. She lives in our street.
None of the young people in the village can find jobs here.
106
Exercises
1
The old, the rich, etc (A)
Write
in the missing words. Use the
and
these adjectives: homeless,
hungry, old, sick, unemployed, young
► Better education for the young 3 Better hospitals for
Food for 4 Jobs for
Homes for 5 Better pensions for
The old, the rich, etc (A-B)
Rewrite the sentences using a phrase with the and an adjective instead of the underlined phrases.
► People who have lots of money have comfortable lives. The rich have comfortable lives.
We live near a special school for people who can't hear.
The old soldiers were holding a service for those who had died.
The government should do more for people who do not have enough money.
I'm doing a course on caring for people who are mentally handicapped.
3 The young or the young people? (C)
Complete these sentences from a newspaper. Use the adjectives in brackets. Put in e.g. the hungry or the hungry people.
Rich nations can afford to feed the hungry (hungry).
The homeless people (homeless) whose story appeared in this paper last week have now found a place to live.
1 ………………………..... (sick) need to be looked after, so money must be spent on hospitals.
Some of (young) at the youth club here are running in a marathon.
Life must be hard for ……………… (unemployed) in our society today.
What is the government doing to help (poor)?
There was a fire at a nursing home in Charles Street, but none of………………………………. (old) who live there were hurt.
6 …………………………… (homeless) usually have great difficulty in getting a job.
7 There is a special television programme for ……….(deaf) every Sunday morning.