Substantivized Adjectives in Russian language

Substantivation: the process by which words from other parts of speech transition into the noun class, taking on the role of a substantive. This transformation enables adjectives, participles, and adverbs to represent concepts, objects, or entities.

Examples of substantivized adjectives in Russian include:

1. “Гостиная” (= living room, from the collocation “гостиная комната”) – referring to the living space where guests are entertained.
2. “Столовая” (dining room, from the collocation “столовая комната”) – representing the concept of a dining area or cafeteria.
3. “Рабочий” (worker, from the collocation “рабочий человек”) – denoting individuals engaged in labor or the working class.
4. “Больной” (patient, from the collocation “больной человек”) – referring to a sick person or a patient receiving medical care.
5. “Военный” (soldier, from the collocation “военный человек”) – denoting individuals associated with the military or armed forces

This list could be continued with such substantivized adjectives as “детская” (=children’s room), “парикмахерская” (=hair salon), “ванная” (=bathroom), “взрослый” (=adult), “сладкое” (=sweet things) etc.

Although substantivized adjectives play the role of nouns, they retain the case endings of adjectives. Be careful!

• Я не могу жить без сладкого. = I can’t live without sweet things.
• У меня с собой нет наличных. = I don’t have cash with me.
• Я всегда покупаю хлеб в этой булочной. = I always buy bread from this bakery.