7.3 Substantival Use

In the Substantival use, the adjective acts as a noun

• We could say the “Substantive Substitutes” for a noun
• Perhaps an obvious example of this from pop culture is the film “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”
  • The three words, “good”, “bad”, and “ugly” are adjectives being used as nouns
  • They are substantival adjectives
• In the substantival use, the noun is implied but not stated
  • It could be the “good one”, the “bad man”, or the “ugly idol”
• Remember that Hebrew gender does not always refer to an animate object
  • הַטּוֹבָה - “the good”
    • The word above is “the good (feminine singular something)”
    • Depending on the context, it could be “the good woman”, or a feminine object like “the good Torah”

When you see an adjective but no related noun that matches in gender and number, the adjective is in the Substantival Use