Episode 60: The Rich and The Poor

the + adjective (groups) — Charles Dickens, Victorian era (B1-B2)

Grammar Box

Meaning: We use “the” + adjective (without a noun) to refer to a whole group of people sharing that characteristic, creating a plural meaning.

Form: the + adjective = plural group (the poor = poor people)

Example 1: The rich often don’t understand the struggles of the poor.

Example 2: The elderly deserve respect and care from the young.

Common mistake: Wrong: Rich people and poor people. Better: The rich and the poor (when discussing groups in general).

The Challenge

Luna read a sentence: “The government should help the poor.” But “the poor” what? The poor people? Her teacher explained: “‘The poor’ means ‘poor people in general.’ The adjective becomes a noun.” Luna was confused. How can an adjective replace a noun? And why does it always need “the”? The watch glowed with the dim light of Victorian London. Professor Wisdom appeared in period clothing. “Language,” he said, “creates categories. ‘The poor’ isn’t just grammar — it’s how we see society. Let me show you a writer who used this pattern to change the world.”

The Journey

London, 1843. Charles Dickens walked the dark streets, observing two worlds existing side by side. In one: the rich, dining in warm houses, wearing fine clothes, utterly secure. In another: the poor, huddling in doorways, starving, invisible to those passing by. Dickens saw not just individuals but groups — vast categories of human experience separated by an invisible wall.

He went home and wrote “A Christmas Carol” in six weeks. His language deliberately used “the” + adjective to create social categories: “The wealthy had forgotten the suffering of the unfortunate.” “The privileged ignored the desperate.” “The powerful exploited the weak.” Each phrase did something revolutionary — it turned individual characteristics into collective identities. “The poor” wasn’t about one person being poor. It was about poverty as a shared human condition.

His publisher worried. “Charles, this pattern — ‘the rich and the poor’ — sounds too political. Too divisive.” Dickens replied, “That’s precisely the point. When we say ‘the rich’ and ‘the poor,’ we acknowledge that these aren’t random individual circumstances. They’re social categories. Systems. Structures. The grammar itself is commentary.”

The book sold out in days. Dickens’s later novels continued this pattern. “Oliver Twist” showed the suffering of the homeless and the cruelty of the wealthy. “Hard Times” contrasted the powerful factory owners with the exploited workers. “Bleak House” revealed how the legal system benefited the educated while crushing the ignorant.

But Dickens also used this pattern for hope: “The young will inherit this world from the old. The brave will stand up when the fearful hide. The good exist among the evil.” By using “the” + adjective, he could speak about entire categories of humanity — their struggles, their potential, their shared fate.

Victorian England was slowly changing. Child labor laws. Worker protections. Public education. Historians would debate the causes, but Dickens’s grammar played a role. By speaking of “the poor” as a category rather than individual failures, he made poverty a social problem requiring social solutions. The article “the” plus an adjective created a plural political reality.

The Deep Dive

The pattern “the + adjective” creates a plural noun phrase referring to all people sharing that characteristic. “The poor” means “poor people in general.” “The elderly” means “elderly people as a group.” This structure emphasizes the collective experience, not individual cases. It’s often used in social commentary, policy discussions, and formal writing.

Common examples include social categories (the rich, the poor, the homeless, the unemployed), age groups (the young, the old, the elderly), nationalities (the British, the French, the Chinese), abilities (the blind, the deaf, the disabled), and moral qualities (the brave, the wise, the ignorant). The adjective itself becomes plural in meaning even though it has no plural form.

Important note: this pattern works for groups but not for specific individuals. We cannot say “the rich arrived” meaning one rich person. It always means the group. For individuals, we need the noun: “a rich person,” “the rich woman.” Also, not all adjectives work this way — typically only those describing people or social categories. We don’t say “the red” to mean “red things.”

More Examples

History: Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address spoke of government “of the people, by the people, for the people” — emphasizing the collective over the privileged.

Science: Medical research aims to improve quality of life for the sick and extend opportunities for the healthy.

Everyday: The government announced new programs to support the unemployed and retrain the underemployed for future jobs.

Formal: The policy disproportionately affects the poor while providing tax benefits primarily to the wealthy.

Informal: Why do the rich keep getting richer while the rest of us struggle?

Contrast: “poor people” (explicit plural noun) vs “the poor” (adjective as collective noun) — second is more formal and emphasizes group identity.

Practice & Reflection

Exercises:

Fill in the blank: Dickens wrote about how _ rich ignored _ suffering of __ poor in Victorian London. (the / the / the)
Correct the mistake: Government should create policies that help poor people and elderly people.
Choose and explain: “The new hospital will serve __.”
a) the sick
b) sick people
Rewrite: Use “the + adjective”: “Brave people will always challenge powerful people.” → “__”
Compare: “The young are optimistic” versus “Young people are optimistic” — which sounds more formal?
Your reflection: Write about a social issue using at least two “the + adjective” patterns to describe different groups.

Answer Key:

the / the / the — all three adjectives used as group nouns require “the”
Government should create policies that help the poor and the elderly (or “the poor and elderly”)
Both work; a) is more formal/collective; b) is more concrete/individual
The brave will always challenge the powerful — adjectives as group nouns
First — “the + adjective” pattern is more formal and generalizing
Check: “the” + adjective for groups (the rich, poor, young, old, etc.)?

The Lesson

Luna wrote in her essay: “Society must ensure that the wealthy don’t exploit the vulnerable. The educated should help the illiterate. The fortunate have a responsibility to the less fortunate.” Her teacher smiled. Perfect. The watch faded. Luna thought about Dickens, walking Victorian streets, seeing not just individuals but categories, systems, patterns. “The rich and the poor” — five words that acknowledged an unbridgeable gap while demanding it be bridged. Grammar isn’t just description. Sometimes it’s diagnosis. And sometimes, it’s the first step toward cure.