Adjectives as Nouns‎ & Vice Versa


Adjectives normally tell us more about nouns e.g.

{adjective} + {noun}

rich + people

poor + men

Adjectives as Nouns:

However, we can also use an adjective as a noun by using this pattern:

the + {adjective}

We use this to talk about a group of people:

The rich get richer while the poor get poorer.

We can also use it to talk about an abstract idea:

the new, the old, the infinite

Nouns as Adjectives:

We can also put two nouns together. When we do this, the first noun acts like an adjective and gives us more information about the second noun:

{noun} + {noun}

computer + programs

record + players

In these examples above, computer and record are both nouns but they work like adjectives, giving us more information and describing the second noun.

So, you can see here that adjectives can sometimes work as nouns and nouns can sometimes work as adjectives!


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Posted in TEFL & Grammar Glossary.

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