c) Construction according to Sense. Sometimes an Adjective does not agree with a noun according to strict grammatical form, but according to sense; as,—
pars bēstiīs objectī sunt, part (of the men) were thrown to beasts.
ADJECTIVES USED SUBSTANTIVELY.
[236]. 1. PLURAL ADJECTIVES USED SUBSTANTIVELY. Adjectives are quite freely used as Substantives in the Plural. The Masculine denotes persons; the Neuter denotes things; as,—
| doctī, scholars; | parva, small things; | |
| malī, the wicked; | magna, great things; | |
| Graecī, the Greeks; | ūtilia, useful things; | |
| nostrī, our men. | ||
2. Neuter Plural Adjectives thus used are confined mainly to the Nominative and Accusative cases. Such forms as magnōrum, omnium; magnīs, omnibus, would ordinarily lead to ambiguity; yet where there is no ambiguity, they sometimes occur; as,—
parvīs compōnere magna, to compare great things with small
Otherwise the Latin says: magnārum rērum, magnīs rēbus, etc.
[237]. SINGULAR ADJECTIVES USED SUBSTANTIVELY. Adjectives are less freely used as Substantives in the Singular than in the Plural.
1. Masculine Adjectives occur only occasionally in this use; as,—