[Grammar] the blind

[Will17]

Hello there!

We say:

-The dead

-The blind

-The deaf

But can we say

-The youngers and the olders

Thank you very much

Will

 

[freezeframe]

Hello there!

We say:

-The dead

-The blind

-The deaf

But can we say

-The youngers and the olders

Thank you very much

Will

No. We say "the young and the old"
or
"the youth (youngsters) and the elders"

What is the relation to the dead, the deaf and the blind? :-|


EDIT: add "the elderly"; see fivejedjon's comment below

 

[5jj]

We say [...] "the elders"

I would never say that unless I were talking about people treated with great respect, and having some sort of authority, in certain communities, or holding some kind of official position in some churches.

 

[freezeframe]

I would never say that unless I were talking about people treated with great respect, and having some sort of authority, in certain communities, or holding some kind of official position in some churches.

Agreed.
In the absence of any kind of context I entertained that possibility.

I probably should have said "the elderly".

 

[SanMar]

"Respect your elders!" in this case it refers to any older person.




Not a teacher.

 

[freezeframe]

"Respect your elders!" in this case it refers to any older person.

What about "Respect the elders"?

 

[SanMar]

What about "Respect the elders"?

No, never heard of that as a common saying. As a sentence it suggests the meaning that Fivejedjon mentioned above (post #3).



Not a teacher.

ps If you want it to mean older people in general you could say "Respect the elderly" but it is not a common saying either, at least not where I live in Canada.

 

[5jj]

"Respect your elders!" in this case it refers to any older person..

We also have elders and betters - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.. However, these are best regarded as idioms. Normally we would not use 'elders' for older people; it's 'the elderly' or 'the old'.

 

[Tdol]

Also, whille we do say the blind, etc, people are moving more towards saying things like blind people. This way, they are people first and foremost.