Can an adjective act as a subject?
Here is a sentence from an essay that I wrote a week ago. Yesterday, one person noticed that there is something weird about it because the adjective "most of the convicted" acts as the subject for the verb "will be released". Now I am in doubt too. Is it normal for an adjective to act as a subject?

Although these ideas could be partly right, eventually most of the convicted will be released back into the community where they will face the same problems that once caused them to break the law.

Question

Can an adjective act as a subject?
Here is a sentence from an essay that I wrote a week ago. Yesterday, one person noticed that there is something weird about it because the adjective "most of the convicted" acts as the subject for the verb "will be released". Now I am in doubt too. Is it normal for an adjective to act as a subject?

Although these ideas could be partly right, eventually most of the convicted will be released back into the community where they will face the same problems that once caused them to break the law.

Answer

It's not an adjective in this sentence. 'The convicted' is a noun phrase, referring in general terms to people who have been convicted. It is possible to turn many adjectives into nouns in this way, for example, the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the unemployed.

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