Question about "people"

[MagicGirl86]

Hi my name is Andrea,
Recently we I have read at school some readings about culture and there I've found this:
* a people is
* persons
* peoples

In my english classes I was taught thar people was just used in plural, buth there it is used in other ways. What is the meaninf of those expressions?

Besides, in a game in play-station I've found this phrase :"Nothing but tangerines" what does it mean?
thanks a lot

[MrPedantic]

Hello MG, welcome to Using English!

"People" can mean any group of human beings, e.g.

1. There are three people in Reception to see you.

Or human beings in general:

2. People are strange.

Or any national or ethnic group, considered as a unit (in this sense, it can be used in the plural too):

3. We don't have an argument with the British people; only with the British government.

4. The museum has a new exhibition about the peoples of ancient Mesopotamia.

As for "nothing but tangerines", it's an emphatic way of saying "only tangerines", e.g.

5. There was nothing but tangerines in the fridge this morning.

(i.e. there was nothing else: only tangerines.)

All the best,

MrP