Forum newsfeeds
Forum Newsfeeds


Sites for Teachers

Sites for Teachers


Go Back   UsingEnglish.com ESL Forum > Learning English > Ask a Teacher

Notices

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 26-Nov-2004, 15:36
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Country: Italy
Posts: 207
Current Location: Tuscany
First Language: Italian
Thanks: 2
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
ripley
Default persons or people

Hi everybody,
I'd like to know the difference in meaning and use between persons and people.
Thanks. Rip.
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 27-Nov-2004, 03:35
welldone
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: persons or people

hi, here is my understanding.

People is the plural form of person. So we seldom hear "two persons". Most of the time we say "two people".

The exception here is you might see "two persons" in legal files that want to stress individual person.
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old 27-Nov-2004, 03:44
Casiopea's Avatar
VIP Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Country: Canada
Posts: 12,997
Current Location: China
First Language: English
Thanks: 0
Thanked 24 Times in 24 Posts
Casiopea is on a distinguished road
Default Re: persons or people

Quote:
Originally Posted by ripley
Hi everybody,
I'd like to know the difference in meaning and use between persons and people.
Thanks. Rip.
I agree with Welldone. In addition, use 'people' to refer to a group, and use 'persons' to refer to the individual members of a group.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
persons, people

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
there is a lot of people or there are a lot of people? Anonymous Ask a Teacher 4 17-Apr-2007 11:41
People - Two Little Questions Anonymous Frequently Asked Questions 3 07-Nov-2006 09:04
Travel / Traveling Overseas eric2004 Ask a Teacher 63 06-Jan-2004 20:17
Psychotheray paper Please correct Anonymous Ask a Teacher 5 17-Dec-2003 20:28


New To Site? Need Help?

All times are GMT. The time now is 20:23.


vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.2.0 RC5
Copyright © 2002 - 2008 UsingEnglish.com