[Grammar] The rich people

[Will17]

Hello,

Can you tell me if "the" is necessary here please?

"In bluetown, (the) rich people live in the town centre and (the) poor people live in the suburbs. It's the opposite in redtown".

Thanks a lot for your help,

Will

 

[SoothingDave]

It's not necessary.

 

[Tdol]

I agree, but if they're names or being used as such, then Bluetown and Redtown should have capital letters.

 

[konungursvia]

It's not necessary.

I think it is, if you want to preserve the original meaning, which implies that all rich people in that town reside in one area, and all the poor people live in another area.

Contrast this with the version without the article, which only means there are rich people living in the one area, and that there are poor people living in another.

For example, if you wanted to point out exceptions to a perceived rule: 'In the US, rich people live in the Bronx, and poor people live in Manhattan.' (They're not all where you expect them to be).