Simple sentence

Hi, MNHD,

@MNHD posted:

Only the tested are promoted.

My teacher marked it as incorrect pointing out that 'only' as an adjective goes before a noun. Here, 'the tested' is not a true noun, so it's not grammatically valid to use 'only' before a noun. But I found many examples on the internet where 'only' is used before such nouns, such as ' Only the rich are always happy'.

The word "only" in the sentence "Only the rich are always happy" is an adverb, not an adjective. To be an adjective, "only" needs to appear immediately before the noun, for example:

- The only people who are happy are those who are rich.

It is also true that "the tested" is not a good noun phrase. You could change the conditional sentence to a sentence containing a relative clause:

- Only those who are tested are promoted.

Thanks, @Gustavo, Co-Moderator

Apart from 'the tested' being a bad noun phrase, can I not use 'only' as an adverb - as you said - before 'the tested'?

'Only the rich are always happy'

'Only the tested are promoted'

I also found that when 'the' is used before 'an adjective', it turns that adjective into a noun such as 'elderly' is an adjective, but when it goes after 'the', it becomes a noun, meaning the group of old people.

@MNHD posted:

I also found that when 'the' is used before 'an adjective', it turns that adjective into a noun such as 'elderly' is an adjective, but when it goes after 'the', it becomes a noun, meaning the group of old people.

That works only with some adjectives which, when preceded by the, form a collective noun: the living, the dead, the poor, the rich. The participle "tested" is not one of those adjectives. You could say: Only the tested ones ...

@Gustavo, Co-Moderator, Thank you so much. I wanted to react to your post, but the site doesn't allow me.

The reaction feature is not enabled. We prefer thank-you notes, which we do not always receive but are always welcome.

@MNHD posted:

My teacher marked it as incorrect pointing out that 'only' as an adjective goes before a noun. Here, 'the tested' is not a true noun, so it's not grammatically valid to use 'only' before a noun.

Hi, MNHD—I agree with everything Gustavo has told you. If you want to challenge your teacher, you might ask him/her what s/he thinks of this proverb:

• Only the brave deserve the fair.