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Collective adjectives act as nouns , each of which describes a group of people who share the same or similar characteristics . Collective adjectives differ from collective nouns although both refer to groups of people: examples of collective nouns are band of musicians, gang of thieves, panel of experts, troupe of dancers; and examples of collective adjectives are the blind, the injured, the old, the young.
Collective adjectives must follow the definite article the ( the homeless) and, because they are always treated as plural, take a plural verb (The injured are airlifted to the nearest hospital).
Some common collective adjectives are:
| Common Collective Adjectives | ||
|---|---|---|
| the aged | the hardworking | the oppressed |
| the blind | the healthy | the poor |
| the dead | the homeless | the rich |
| the deaf | the injured | the rural poor |
| the departed | the innocent | the sick |
| the deprived | the intelligent | the strong |
| the disabled | the living | the underprivileged |
| the downtrodden | the lonely | the unemployed |
| the dumb | the meek | the uninformed |
| the elderly | the mentally challenged | the weak |
| the guilty | the middle-aged | the young |
| the handicapped | the old | the young at heart |