Sunday, 25 September 2011

用 the + adjective 去形容某一類人

"The + adjective" 這樣的結構我們稱之為 abstract nouns，可以用來形容某一類人： 

the rich = 有錢人 (people who are rich) 
the poor = 窮人 (people who are poor) 
the old = 老年人 (people who are old) 
the young = 年青人 (people who are young) 
the blind = 盲人 (people who are blind) 
the handicapped = 殘疾人 (people who are handicapped)

記住上面的例子全都應配上 plural verbs： 

The old are in need of our understanding.
The poor work very hard and yet earn very little. 
The handicapped need to work all together to protect their rights.

使用這種結構時，我們不需要在後面加上 "people" 一字。說 "the rich people" 文法上不算錯，只是略嫌畫蛇添足。


It's time the powerful stopped exploiting the weak. 
The young are unwilling to work hard these days.