How do we refer to people in certain groups? A common approach is to use the + adjective (without noun). For example, we can say “the deaf” to refer to people who are deaf.
More examples
- The government is going to provide more help for the mentally ill.
- New taxation system doesn’t help the poor.
- The rich vote republican in the US.
- They have organized a marathon to give support to the blind.
- The jobless are losing hope of finding a good job.
- This tradition has existed for centuries to keep the memory of the dead.
- Their organization raises money to help the handicapped.
In some contexts, you can simply use a noun to refer to a general group of people, without needing the definite article the before the adjective. For instance, “I love flowers” sounds more natural than “I love the flowers.”
References