When can we use the word peoples

Most of the time, people is the correct word to choose as a plural for person. Persons is archaic, and it is safe to avoid using it, except in legal writing, which has its own traditional language. Peoples is only necessary when you refer to distinct ethnic groups (for example, within the same region).

Where do we use peoples?

As a general rule, you’re absolutely right – person is used to refer to an individual, and the plural form is people. As you have said, we can also use peoples to talk about different groups within a nation or the world. For example: The peoples of the world must unite to tackle climate change.

What is the difference between peoples and people’s?

The word “peoples” is a plural noun meaning one or more groups who are ethnically and culturally related, usually to compare them. “People’s” is the possessive form of the whole human group (like “mankind”) or of a collective group as in my description of the usage above.

Can we use peoples in sentence?

2 Answers. Peoples is the plural of people when people means a nation or ethnic group, or the like. For example, there is a book called Africa, its peoples and their cultural history.When speaking about a number of individuals, peoples is never correct.

Which is correct people’s lives or peoples lives?

Simply put: a life is SINGULAR and lives is PLURAL. Don’t confuse with: She lives in London with People’s lives are at risk by taking this vaccine. People’s life is INCORRECT at all times. Life is always singular: My life is simple and happy.

Is people’s correct grammar?

Both are correct: “People’s” is used when “People” is taken as a whole, as a singular noun showing a group of people. “Peoples’” is used when “Peoples” is taken as a plural noun showing various groups of people, not one group, but several groups of people, meaning plural of plural, Peoples.

Does peoples have an apostrophe?

“People” is a singular collective noun meaning a group of persons. Peoples is a plural collective noun. The word “peoples” actually referrals to one or more groups of persons. To make a plural word, ending in “s”, plural, one simply adds an apostrophe after the word; thus, the correct form is as follows: peoples’.

Where do you put the apostrophe in people’s?

Put the apostrophe after the last letter. The last letter is “e.” So: people’s.

Can you say 3 persons?

There is confusion about the best way to describe more than one person. It often feels better to speak of “three people” rather than “three persons”, but this suggests that people is the plural of person. The normal plural of person was persons, as in “two persons were present”.

Is people singular or plural?

‘People’ is the plural version of ‘Person’ 99% of the time. The alternative plural ‘Persons’ exists but is only used in technical language: Maximum 12 persons (in a lift/elevator). There is another noun, singular ‘People’ and plural ‘Peoples’, which means nation/tribe.

Is it incorrect to say peoples?

Peoples—What’s the Difference? Most of the time, people is the correct word to choose as a plural for person.Peoples is only necessary when you refer to distinct ethnic groups (for example, within the same region).

Is People’s a real word?

When we talk about a specific group of people, we consider it as singular and therefore, no need to add s. Peoples is used when we talk about two or more different ethnic groups. For example, “All the 14 distinct peoples (native groups) of the continent were part of the survey”. Whereas People’s is not the plural form.

Should people’s lives have an apostrophe?

The stone should say: “Touched people’s lives.”
If the word you wish to make possessive ends in an “s,” regardless of it is plural or not, add ONLY an apostrophe (after the -s). 2. If the word does NOT end in -s, add apostrophe ‘s.

How do you spell people’s lives?

“People’s lives” is correct. Originally Answered: Which is correct, people’s lives or people’ lives? It is people’s lives. The possessive of a noun ,provided it does not end in “s” – that’s another story- is formed by adding an apostrophe s, ‘s.

How can you make a difference in people’s lives?

10 Ways to Make a Difference in Someone’s Life

1. Smile! Being friendly to others is a great way to brighten someone else’s day.
2. Do Some Volunteer Work.
3. Sponsor a Child.
4. Donate.
5. Stop What You’re Doing and HELP.
6. Team Up with Someone to Live Healthier.
7. Make a Care Package.
8. Have an Outward Gaze.

Can we say 2 persons?

The words people and persons can both be used as the plural of person, but they are not used in exactly the same way. People is by far the more common of the two words and is used in most ordinary contexts: “a group of people”; “there were only about ten people”; “several thousand people have been rehoused”.

What is the possessive form of teachers?

Singular and Plural Possessive Nouns

Is whose and who’s the same?

Who’s. Who’s is a contraction linking the words who is or who has, and whose is the possessive form of who. They may sound the same, but spelling them correctly can be tricky.

What is correct James or James’s?

The proper convention is to include the possessive apostrophe even when the word ends in an “s.” So “James’s” is correct. The only exception to that are proper nouns so well established that traditionally they have always been used with just an apostrophe.

Are people or are people?

Now, the next time someone asks you this question, you’ll know how to answer. Just remember that “people” and “a group of people” will always be people in English and that you should always conjugate it as a plural: PEOPLE ARE.

Which is correct the Smiths or the Smith’s?

The plural of Smith is Smiths. NOT Smith’s. And if for some reason the Smiths wanted to use the possessive, they would have to use the plural possessive.

Persons, people, and peoples: we know what they mean, but the relationship between them can be confusing. What’s the correct plural of person—persons or people? Why does people have its own plural?

Some of these questions have easy answers. But there are a number of nuanced aspects to their use, including those related to legal language, personal identity, and decisions about whether to emphasize individuals or groups. Then there are questions about capitalization, particularly for terms like people of color and Indigenous Peoples.

In this article, we’ll address the frequently asked questions surrounding persons, people, and peoples, including:

• When should persons be used instead of people?
• When should peoples be used instead of people?
• When should peoples be capitalized?
• What are the possessive forms of persons, people, and peoples?

What is the plural of person? Persons or people?

Both persons and people are acceptable plural forms of person. They’re not necessarily always interchangeable, but there is some overlap.

The plural form people is more common. That’s because it can be used in any context to refer to multiple individuals—one person, two people (or 100 people or 8 billion people, etc.).

Usually, you’ll see persons in more formal contexts, especially in legal and technical text, as well as a few other situations.

When to use persons vs. people

Persons is especially associated with its use in legal language, in which it’s often used rather than people to ensure clarity by emphasizing that the text is referring to multiple individuals, as opposed to a group as a whole, as in Occupancy is limited to 200 persons or Any person or persons found to be in violation of these rules shall be prohibited from participating.

When persons is used in this way outside of legal texts, it has historically been regarded as overly formal or stilted—it wouldn’t be natural to say I invited 10 persons to the party, for example. Increasingly, however, there are cases in which persons is thought to be more appropriate than people for other reasons.

This is especially the case in situations when you want to talk about individuals within a group, rather than the group as a whole. In this way, persons is sometimes used with terms related to identity to emphasize individuality, such as saying Jewish persons instead of Jewish people. Regardless of intent, though, statements that are about individuals with a common identity can lead to overgeneralizations or stereotyping, so it’s always best to consider whether the individuals’ common identity is an essential part of what you’re trying to say. Choosing how to refer to people can also be informed by preferences around language that’s person-first (as in person with autism) or identity-first (as in autistic person).

More generally, the word people can also be a collective noun that refers to a specific group, nation, tribe, or community, as in We are a resilient people or The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the American people.

Learn more about collective nouns and how to use them.

When to use peoples

The word peoples is specifically used as the plural of people in its sense as a collective singular noun referring to a nation, or tribe, or other community, as in Indigenous Peoples or the many peoples of the world.

This usage emphasizes that you’re talking about several different specific groups that share a commonality. This can be important for clarity—the many people of the world means something different than the many peoples of the world.

In practical terms, using peoples in this way can help to prevent erasure and homogenization of groups that are often lumped together in ways that obscure their specific, complex identities. In this way, the term Indigenous Peoples emphasizes the vast diversity among the world’s Indigenous groups while also implying that there are, in fact, separate and distinct groups.

When should People and Peoples be capitalized?

You may have noticed that Peoples is capitalized in Indigenous Peoples in this article (and in other articles that use the term).

Capitalization is increasingly used as a form of respect and distinction for terms that relate to identity. (Dictionary.com capitalizes Indigenous across the dictionary when it relates to identity in this way, just as we do for the word Black.)

The word Peoples is most often capitalized when it follows a specific modifier, as in Hispanic Peoples and Indigenous Peoples. In cases when it’s capitalized, it is often due to the fact that it refers not to people in general but to specific, distinct communities.

Similarly, the term People of Color is also sometimes capitalized, though not always, likely because it is typically used as a broad term that encompasses more specific identities, including Black and Indigenous people, for example (relatedly, this is what’s represented in the first part of the the abbreviation BIPOC).

What are the possessive forms of person, persons, people and peoples? Where should I put the apostrophe?

Is it people’s or peoples’? Person’s or persons’? All of these are valid possessives, but they indicate different things. Here is a breakdown of each possessive form, along with examples of their use.

Person

• Possessive form: person’s (singular possessive)
• Example: One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

Persons

• Possessive form: persons’ (plural possessive)
• Example: The suspect confessed to the theft of several persons’ social security numbers.

People

• Possessive form: people’s (plural and singular possessive)
• Plural example: Tech support should be able to fix all six people’s issues by the end of the day.
• Singular example: The French people’s love of fine food is well known.

Peoples

• Possessive form: peoples’ (plural possessive)
• Example: The goal of the festival is to celebrate many different peoples’ cultures.

Examples of persons, people, and peoples used in a sentence

Here are some examples of the ways that each word is commonly used.

• We were hoping that at least one person would apply for the job, but we received applications from 60 people!
• The person or persons who may have witnessed the incident are being sought by police.
• My partner and I, as persons with autism, have a unique perspective on the issue.
• The class will be focused on the history, peoples, and cultures of the region.
• Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a time to honor Indigenous Peoples in the Americas and around the world.

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There are sometimes debates over whether peoples’ or people’s is the correct form of the possessive for “people.” So, which one should you use?

The truth is, people’s is always the correct possessive form of “people.” Let’s explore why in this blog post.

“People” is a plural noun of person.

• One person
• Two people
• Three people
• Four people
• Etc.

Peoples

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.

People’s

People’s is the possessive form of “people.” If some people own something, we use an apostrophe + s.

Examples of Sentences with People’s

Here are some examples to show when to use people’s in a sentence.

• The People’s Choice Awards were announced today.
• The people’s reaction to the news was mixed.
• We surveyed the people’s opinions as part of the study.
• The people’s needs must be our priority.
• The People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949.
• Mother Theresa touched many people’s lives.

In each of these examples, people’s is the possessive form of “people.” It shows that something belongs to a group of people.

Peoples’

Peoples’ is not a word. That would assume that “people” ends in s. “People” is a plural noun without the s. Therefore, we cannot write peoples’ or peoples’s.

Person’s

Person’s is the possessive form of “person.” If a person owns something, we use an apostrophe + s.

Examples of Sentences with Person’s

Here are some examples to show when to use person’s in a sentence.

• This is the person’s laptop.
• The person’s belongings were packed in a suitcase.
• We interviewed the person’s references before making a decision.
• Please respect the person’s privacy.

Possessive Nouns: Summary

When we want to show that something belongs to someone or something, we use a possessive noun.

Singular Possessive Nouns

We can make singular nouns possessive by adding an apostrophe + s.

For example, the dog’s bone and the child’s toy.

Plural Possessive Nouns

We can make plural nouns possessive, for example, the actors’ costumes. Normally, we just need to add an s + apostrophe.

The main exception is when the word is plural and doesn’t end in s. In this case, we just add an apostrophe before the s, for example, the people’s demands.

Here are some more examples of nouns and their possessive forms:

In Conclusion

Sometimes it is confusing to know the difference between people’s and peoples’. As a common noun that doesn’t have an s in its plural form, it acts similarly to a singular possessive noun by adding the apostrophe+ s (people’s) in the possessive.

Is it persons, people or peoples?  In most cases, people is the correct term to use as a plural for the word person. The word persons is considered archaic, so unless you’re doing some legal writing, it’s best to avoid it. Meanwhile, peoples is only used to refer to distinct ethnic groups, oftentimes within the same region.

People Vs. Persons as Plurals

Both of the words people and person come from Latin, but they are each derived from different Latin words. People came from the word populus, which means “the people” and refers to a group from the same community or nation. Person, on the other hand, came from the Latin word persona, which initially meant “mask” but eventually came to refer to “an individual human.”

At one point in history, it was said that the word persons was to be used as the preferred plural whenever more than one person was referred to as a countable noun. Meanwhile, people was preferred for uncountable nouns. However, these grammatical rules never became standard. Today, the plural persons is only acceptable in legal contexts. In some cases, persons is also used to refer to humans on an individual basis, rather than a collective basis.

Examples

• Sixty people came to my Harry Potter costume party. Ten persons came dressed as either Dumbledore or Snape, but the rest of the people were all Harry Potter. (This is considered acceptable because the persons’ individual costume choices are relevant to the sentence’s context.)
• Ten people came dressed as either Dumbledore or Snape, but the rest of the people were all Harry Potter. (This is considered equally acceptable.)

The following examples are considered acceptable as well:

• More people should recycle regularly in order to save the planet.
• Why don’t more people understand that what they say affects others?
• Twenty people protested in Washington, D.C. today.

Formal Legal Writing: Persons Vs. People

The word persons is used regularly in the legal world, including law enforcement. As far as the law is concerned, nothing is collective. Therefore, persons is a helpful term. For example, groups of people are not prosecuted; individuals are. There are a few legal expressions that reflect this grammatical preference, such as “persons of interest” and “missing persons.” You’ll also see people use the word persons in formal writing that sounds legal, like public notices and rules. 

Examples

• Any person or persons vandalizing private property will be fined.
• Two persons of interest are currently being questioned.
• The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has several open missing persons cases.
• No more than eight persons can enter the hot tub at the same time.

In a political context, persons is correct within the expression “displaced persons.” For example, you might hear someone say, “Visas will be expedited for displaced persons.”

You should always avoid using the word persons outside of legal contexts. Never use persons in business settings. 

Here’s an example of an unacceptable use of the word persons: “To the persons who stole my lunch from the break room: I’m watching you.” Using persons in this context sounds silly and a bit stuffy.

If you’ve used the word persons outside of a legal context, you can often replace it with the word those. For example, “Persons who use our services will be charged a fee,” turns into “Those who use our services will be charged a fee.”

People Vs. Peoples for Ethnic Groups and Nationalities

Always use the word people when referring to the people of a single nationality or ethnic group. 

Examples

• The people of the United States have a right to free speech.
• Joe Biden was elected by the people of the United States in 2020.

In cases where it’s necessary to distinguish between ethnic groups within the same cultural or geographical context, peoples can be used. 

• The peoples of Palestine and Israel are at war.
• The peoples of the world hold a variety of religious views.

The Bottom Line – Persons, People or Peoples?

When it comes to choosing persons, people or peoples, in the vast majority of cases, the correct plural of person is people. In legal contexts, the plural persons is used. When referring to more than one distinct ethnic group, use the word peoples.  

Here is another trio of words that are often the cause of some confusion: There, Their and They’re. 

Peoples is the plural of people when people means a nation or ethnic group, or the like. For example, there is a book called Africa, its peoples and their cultural history. This title does not indicate a history of individual Africans, but of African tribes and nations.

People is the usual plural of person, meaning individual human, although one also sees persons. When speaking about a number of individuals, peoples is never correct.

In the phrase «capacity of 150 X» it is clear that you are referring to 150 individuals, so peoples is incorrect. The phrase should be

… capacity of 150 people.

However, «persons» is more likely to appear in legislative and regulatory texts, so it would not be unusual to see an official notice restricting a room’s occupancy to

… no more than 150 persons.

So basically, both person and people can be used as singular nouns, people can be used as a plural noun and persons and peoples are also acceptable plural forms.

Where does the apostrophe go when it belongs to someone?

The apostrophe will always be placed either before or after an s at the end of the noun owner. Always the noun owner will be followed (usually immediately) by the thing it owns.

What is the plural of louse?

Louse (plural: lice) is the common name for members of the order Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless insect.

Is it correct to say deers?

Deer is the preferred plural form of deer, a hoofed mammal. Deers is an accepted plural, but it is rarely used. The word deer comes from the Old English word, deor, which means four-legged animal, beast. Also the Dutch word, dier and the German word, tier.

What is a Meese?

Noun. meese. (chiefly humorous) plural of moose.

Can you say fishes?

The plural of fish is usually fish. When referring to more than one species of fish, especially in a scientific context, you can use fishes as the plural. The zodiac sign Pisces is also often referred to as fishes.

Can you say sheeps?

No, “sheeps” is not a gramatical English word. The plural of sheep is also sheep. English has a number of nouns whose plural is the same as the singular.

Why do you not say sheeps?

Sheep is an uncountable noun, like fish, that’s why. “Sheep” is one of those English words that is both singular and plural… in other words, “sheeps” does not exist in English. first, the word “sheeps” doesn’t exists. “sheep” doesn’t change its spelling either used as singular or plural.

What is plural of sheeps?

The plural form of the word “sheep” is sheep only. It comes under the few exceptions of the English language which do not change their form when changed to plural from singular. Therefore, option a “sheep” is the right answer. Option b “sheeps”,Option c “sheepes”, and option d “sheepen” are all incorrect.

What is the word for one sheep?

The singular of sheep is “sheep”. You could also call one female sheep a “ewe”, one intact male sheep a “ram”, and one castrated male sheep a “whether”. A group of sheep is considered a flock ,Herd,Mob.

Asked by: Adella Batz

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(11 votes)

People vs. Peoples—What’s the Difference? Most of the time, people is the correct word to choose as a plural for person. … Peoples is only necessary when you refer to distinct ethnic groups (for example, within the same region).

Which is correct people’s or peoples?

The formation of the possessive is regular; the singular is people’s and the plural is peoples ‘. At one time, some usage guides maintained that people could not be preceded by a number, as in Fewer than 30 people showed up. This use is now unquestionably standard in all contexts.

Is it correct to say many peoples?

The word «people» is already plural. One person, two people. «Peoples» is correct in some situations, such as when you describe multiple populations. You will be more likely to find it being using in a context that relates to sociology for example, describing «peoples of the world.»

Can I use peoples in a sentence?

2 Answers. Peoples is the plural of people when people means a nation or ethnic group, or the like. For example, there is a book called Africa, its peoples and their cultural history. … When speaking about a number of individuals, peoples is never correct.

Where does the apostrophe go in peoples?

Put the apostrophe after the last letter. The last letter is “e.” So: people’s.

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