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Persons, people, or peoples? The plural of person should be people in the vast majority of contexts, although legalese uses the plural persons. Peoples should be reserved for instances where you are referring to more than one distinct ethnic group.
Oct 11, 2021 · People is the plural of person that’s most commonly used in everyday communication to simply refer to multiple humans. But people can also be used as a singular noun to refer to a population or particular community.
Aug 9, 2020 · People’s is the possessive of the word people — the plural of person. In contrast, peoples’ is the possessive of the word peoples — used to refer to groups of people. Both words are plural nouns, and both are in the possessive form.
by Adam Davenport. People’s is the plural possessive of the word person. E.g., “People’s lives are more difficult due to austerity.” Furthermore, the term peoples’ can be correct to refer to groups of people possessing things, but it is not common. E.g., “The government neglected the indigenous peoples’ demands.”
Peoples’ is the plural possessive form of People. Peoples or People’s or Peoples’ are all pronounced the same way. Because “Peoples” is usually singular, people’s’ is usually correct.
The correct plural possessive form is “people’s.”. The rule is to take the plural form of the noun and add an “‘s.” “Peoples'” is incorrect as the plural possessive form of “person.”. In rare circumstances, you might find it works to refer to a group of people within a community.
Many usage guides over the years have suggested that there is a clear distinction between these two words; people is used when referring to a collective group or indeterminate number, and persons serves better when referring to individuals (or a number of individuals).
Apr 28, 2024 · It is a singular collective noun that can describe a group of men, women, and children of any composition and size. In most contexts, “people” is used to talk about a specific number of individuals or the inhabitants of a certain area, emphasizing the idea of a unified group without delving into the specific identities within that group.
Aug 20, 2022 · Peoples is not a word. This is because the noun “people” is already plural and doesn’t require an s. Similar plural nouns that don’t take an s: children, women, men, sheep, fish, teeth.
from English Grammar Today. We use person in the singular to refer to any human being: Joel is such a nice person. She’s a person I have a lot of respect for. Persons (plural) is a very formal word. We only use it in rather legalistic contexts: [notice in a lift] Any person or persons found in possession of illegal substances will be prosecuted.
