Fandom Grammar

An anonymous reader had a question for us about the use of the term "the living" and whether it takes a singular or plural form of the verb. Let's take a look!

In horrific scenes in fiction, it's very common to find discussions of "the living" and "the dead":

"What would actually happen," said Harry, his voice hushed, "if Lord Voldemort were to win the conflict?"

"The living would envy the dead," said Dumbledore.

What part of speech are "living" and "dead"? Usually, they're adjectives: words that describe nouns. We rarely get to use an adjective on its own, as a noun: we say "Herminone is an intelligent person," not "Hermione is an intelligent." But in the case of the living and the dead (and the poor and the wealthy, and a number of other examples), we can use the adjective with "the" as a noun that refers to a group of people (or former people, in the case of the dead) who share some sort of characteristic. The adjectives in this case are functioning as nouns:

Professor Snape shook his head and glared across the high table at the students in the Great Hall, who were noisily celebrating the end of exams. "I didn't catch that. In fact, I don't know how you can think amidst all this uproar!"

Dumbledore smiled. "It hardly matters. Ah, to have the enthusiasm of the young!"

These nouns refer to multiple things (people, in many cases), but unlike such "collective" nouns as herd or team, they are used with plural verb forms:

"Only the ignorant are unaware of the importance of the Malfoy name," said Draco, looking down his nose at Hermione.

We can't say "the ignorant is unaware" (the way we would say "the ignorant Muggle is unaware"). We use the plural form of the verb with these "adjective as nouns," matching the plural number of people that the noun represents. In the case of this question, it would be "the living are."

As to whether "the livings" would ever be correct: this phrase does occur, but only in completely different sort of usage. A "living" can mean, as the Merriam-Webster dictionary says, a "means of subsistence":

"I'm sure it's possible to earn a living as a wizard," said Harry, although he was uncertain as to how that would actually work.

WIth this meaning, it's possible to speak of "livings":

Professor McGonagall gave Draco a quelling look. "All Hogwarts students should graduate with the capability of earning their livings, even if they need not do so!" she stated.

To use "living" properly, all you need to do is keep track of how it's being used. If it means a group of people, the associated verb will be in the plural form. If it means a livelhood — that is, the means of obtaining what a person needs to live — then match the verb according to whether you're speak of one living or more than one.

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