VOA名师答疑2023--Persons vs. People

Persons vs. People

Hi there! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about the difference between "persons" and "people."

Question:

Hello,

My name is Richard. I am from Uruguay. I would like to ask you about the differences between "persons" and "people."

I learned that I have to use "people" as a plural¹ of "person," however I saw that in English sometimes they write "persons" as a plural instead of "people."

Thanks in advance,

Richard

Answer

Thank you for writing to us, Richard.

This is a great question. Both words are the plural form of "person," but we use them in different situations. Let's explore each word further.

Persons

A "person" is a noun meaning an individual human. "Person" is in the singular form.

In English, we do have a plural form of that word, which is "persons." Although we do not use it much in everyday speech, the word "persons" is often used in law, especially when talking about "missing persons" or "persons of interest."

Police said they are seeking three persons of interest possibly in connection with the robbery.

People and Peoples

Most often, we use the word "people" to mean multiple or a group of humans. It is the most common plural form of "person." The word is a countable² noun. And, although "people" is defined as many humans, it is not a collective noun. Collective nouns describe many individuals who form a group.

There were 50 people picking apples at the orchard³.

Susan enjoys being around a lot of people.

We often use the word "people" when talking about one ethnic⁴ group or nationality.

The Ukrainian people celebrate their independence day on August 24th.

Sometimes you may see "peoples," with an "s." We use "peoples" when we are talking about different ethnic groups in the same area.

The peoples of the Caucasus are spread over six countries and include more than 50 ethnic groups.

Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Richard.

Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at [email protected].

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Words in This Story

orchard – n. an area of land on which fruit trees are grown

1 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

2 countable   

adj.可数的，可以计算的

参考例句：

• The word "person" is a countable noun.person这个词是个可数名词。
• Countable nouns have singular and plural forms.可数名词有单数和复数之分。

3 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。