Form and rules
How it works
1
The + adjective can refer to a whole group of people sharing a characteristic: the rich, the elderly, the unemployed.
2
These group expressions are plural in meaning: The elderly are often targeted by scams.
3
Nationality adjectives ending -sh/-ch/-ese can sometimes refer collectively with the: the British, the French, the Japanese.
4
After something/anything/nothing, adjectives normally come after: something useful, nothing serious.
5
Do not use the + adjective to mean one individual; say an elderly person, not an elderly.