Substantivized adjectives

Question

hello I have read every rules on internet to figure out why i cant use "the happy' "the foreign" "the disgusting" as substantivized adjectives. I'm still confused. Is there any general rule to get it clear? I dont understand sometimes when i can use this form and when i cannot. For example, can i use 'the very" as a substantivized adjective?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Anonymous"the happy' "the foreign" "the disgusting" as substantivized adjectives.

Actually, you can, but there is very seldom any reason to do so.

AnonymousIs there any general rule to get it clear?

Don't use them unless they are typical, commonly used ones, e.g., the rich or the poor. The grammatical mechanism for doing this transformation is not particularly productive in modern English, so it makes more sense just to use the forms that have already been used historically, and not to start making up a lot of new ones.

Anonymouscan i use 'the very" as a substantivized adjective?

'very' isn't even an adjective; it's an adverb of degree. So no, you can't do that.

CJ

Clive · Answer

You can use adjectives in that way as long as the result is a meaning that your reader will understand.
eg If you speak of 'the happy', I understand easily.
However,if you do it a lot or if you use very unusual adjectives, your English will seem odd and unnatural.

A few adjectives, like 'very' (eg the very man), are extremely limited in their use. If you speak of 'the very', I won't understand. Can you think of a context and a sentence where you would want to speak of 'the very'?

Clive

Cool Breeze · Answer

CalifJimvery' isn't even an adjective; it's an adverb of degree. So no, you can't do that.

Some lexicographers disagree.
ver·y, adv., adj., (Obs.) ver·i·er, ver·i·est.
–adv.
1. in a high degree; extremely; exceedingly: A giant is very tall.
2. (used as an intensive emphasizing superlatives or stressing identity or oppositeness): the very best thing; in the very same place as before.
–adj.
3. precise; particular: That is the very item we want.
4. mere: The very thought of it is distressing.
5. sheer; utter: He wept from the very joy of knowing he was safe.
6. actual: He was caught in the very act of stealing.
7. being such in the true or fullest sense of the term; extreme: the very heart of the matter.
8. true; genuine; worthy of being called such: the very ***; a very fool.
9. rightful or legitimate.
—Syn.5. pure, simple, plain.
—Usage. Past participles that have become established as adjectives can, like most English adjectives, be modified by the adverb VERY: a very driven person; We were very concerned for your safety. VERY does not modify past participles that are clearly verbal; for example, The lid was very sealed is not an idiomatic construction, while The lid was very tightly sealed is. Sometimes confusion arises over whether a given past participle is adjectival and thus able to be modified by VERY without an intervening adverb. However, there is rarely any objection to the use of this intervening adverb, no matter how the past participle is functioning. Such use often occurs in edited writing: We were very much relieved to find the children asleep. They were very greatly excited by the news. I feel very badly cheated.

CB

CalifJim · Answer

Cool BreezeSome lexicographers disagree.

You and Clive are, of course, much more clever than I, so you both thought of 'very' as an adjective before I did.
I wonder, though, if that makes much difference to the OP. The answer is still the same. You can't use "the very" in the way the OP intends to do it.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

here is the context "To avoid plunging you into gloom by my numerous  wishes I struck off some items and left just the very"

Clive · Answer

I don't know what you mean here by 'the very', and I think no-one else would know either.
Please explain.

Anonymous · Answer

genuine, true, very . I consider them as synonyms.

Anonymous · Answer

maybe if i said  'the genuine' it would be correct?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Anonymousgenuine, true, very . I consider them as synonyms.

You are singular in that regard.

Anonymous · Answer

Anonymous For example, can i use 'the very" as a substantivized adjective

I think that the very is a determiner if used in a noun phrase as in the very man, the very thing, the very thought.

Substantivized adjectives

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