IX - A BIT CONFUSED Person & people

THE CORRECT USE OF 'PERSON' AND 'PEOPLE'

People is the plural form of person. So for example we talk about one person and two people. So in normal everyday speech you will hear for example:

• Many people like to do sports 
• There were a lot of people at the concert

However it becomes slightly more complicated because sometimes you do see the word persons.

For example if you're in a lift or elevator you might see the sign:

• Four persons only

And sometimes if you're listening to the news, to news reports you may hear news reports talking about persons. So for example:

• Four persons were injured in the accident 
• Police are looking for five persons.

Persons is normally a more formal use, a more formal plural form.

It gets slightly more complicated when you find the word peoples. People can be used to mean a nationality – all of the people of one country – so for example the people of Cuba. And when you're talking about a group of nationalities you may find the word peoples, for example:

• The peoples of South America.

So that's another slightly more complicated and not so common use of the word peoples.

Finally you may find the word person attached to a number. For example:

• A two-person car 
• A three-person room

This is where person is being used to describe the noun. 2 – person is the adjective describing car and as you know we don't put an s on an adjective. So for example we talk about a two-week holiday not a two-weeks holiday or a three-year course not a three-years course. So here we use two-person car.

So in summary, normally you find people as the plural form of person – one person, three people. Sometimes you'll find people used to describe the nationality so you'll find peoples to describe different nationalities and sometimes you'll find the word persons in more formal styles of writing or in signs for example.