今天我们要来聊聊 person和 people这两个词。
我们都晓得， person是单数，指一个人。People是复数，普通指一群人。
但是，有猎奇心的宝宝们应该会发现，在某些场所，person也会呈现复数方式：persons。
就比方在电梯中，不晓得大家有没有看到过电梯墙壁上会写着相似于Maximum 13 persons的标识语。
那么问题来了， 同样表示复数，persons和people有什么区别呢？
什么时分用people？
People, as a plural noun, refers to two or more individuals.
People，作为复数名词，指代两个或两个以上的人。
If Keri is a person and Chris is a person, then Keri and Chris are two people.
假如Keri是一个人，Chris是一个人，那么Keri和Chris是两个人（people）。
People can be used in reference to any group of two or more individuals.
People能够用来指代恣意一个两人或以上的群体。
例句：
Because the weather was so bad, only 700 people attended the baseball game.
由于天气太差，只要700人参与了这场棒球竞赛。
什么时分用persons？
In the past, persons referred to a specific number of individuals, whereas people was used in a more general sense.
过去，persons指详细数量的人，而people用来表达愈加笼统广泛的意义。
You would not use persons in reference to groups of large or indeterminate size, such as a room full of students, the crowd at a football game, or the population of Sudan.
表达指代较大数量人群或不肯定数量的人群时，不能够用persons。例如，充溢学生的屋子，足球竞赛的观赛人群，或者苏丹的人口。
Today, the use of persons has narrowed to specific phrases, usually in a legal or law enforcement context.
如今，persons的用法变得愈加有限，只在个别短语中运用，通常是法律法规的条文中。
If you have a small, specific number, like three bank robbers or two runaway children, you might choose to say persons of interest or missing persons instead, as the case may be.
假如你想表达的是一个较小的、详细的数字，比方三个银行劫匪或者两个走丢的孩子，你能够说persons of interest (嫌疑犯)，或者missing persons（走丢人口）。
例如：
The police are searching for three persons of interest in connection with the armed robbery of a bank Tuesday night.
警方正在搜索与周四的银行持械抢劫案有关的几名嫌疑犯。
Outside of these situations, persons is not commonly used.
除开以上这几种状况外，persons普通很少用到。
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