“The” + Adjective

The rich enjoy better life quality than the poor.

Rich people enjoy better life quality than poor people.

“The” + Nationalities

It is not necessary to write the word “people”, because using “the + adjective” we are referring implicitly to people.

The French are considered great artists.

The Japanese are very disciplined.

• Nationality adjectives ending in -sh, -ch, -ese or -ss. The Dutch, the Swiss, the Chinese.
• With other nationalities, we can only use the plural form. (The) Colombians, (the) Italians.

Time to Practice!

Complete the sentences using “the” + one of the following words French, young, disabled, unprivileged.

1. The young are the future of humanity.
2. I volunteer providing for the unprivileged.
3. The French are passionate about food.
4. This is a special parking lot for the disabled.

Activity

Make your own examples using generalizations

• The employed have more government support than the unemployed.
• The Chinese are consider excellent cooks.
• The English are very efficient.

Summary of the class

We use the + adjective to refer to a group of people that share a characteristic.