Persons or People

[pjm007]

What is the difference between these words ?

Why/when would you use one instead of the other ?

Thanks in advance.

[heathfield]

A 'person' is an individual, and 'people' is the collective noun. Normally the word 'persons' would be used to denote a group where the individuality of each member is recognised, whilst 'people' would refer a group with common characteristics.

E.g. "Will the following persons please step forward..." and, "The Bronze Age people of Europe..."

[THECORBYLOON]

The Concise Oxford English Dictionary says "USAGE The words people and persons are not used in exactly the same way. People is by far the commoner and is used in most ordinary contexts: a group of people; several thousand people have been rehoused. Persons, on the other hand, tends now to be restricted to official or formal contexts, as in this vehicle is authorized to carry twenty persons."

I say folk rather than people, "I seen two folk etc...."

[jno]

You could probably go through life without ever saying 'persons' - 'people' is acceptable in all situations I can think of.

[beetucks]

Crime committed by a person or people unknown would imply to me that there was either one person or a group of people involved whereas the usual person or persons implies that there could be one person or another person or a group of people.

Thoughts?

[Hammer Head]

THECORBYLOON - surely you mean "I saw two folks..." or "I've seen two folks..."

"I seen" doesn't exist in the English language.

[THECORBYLOON]

HammerHead I say "two folk" not "folks" and "I seen" is dialect.

[tell-me-more]

I agree with Heathfield's answer.

[PhilBy]

The legal system often refers to 'perosn' or persons' unknown!

[PhilBy]

person or persons even!

[FoxLee]

What about 'the folks who live on the hill'?

[Mr Songman]

Definitions of person:


noun: a human being
Example: "There was too much for one person to do"
noun: a person's body (usually including their clothing)
Example: "A weapon was hidden on his person"
noun: a grammatical category of pronouns and verb forms
Example: "Stop talking about yourself in the third person"

Definitions of people:


noun: (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
Example: "Old people"
noun: members of a family line
Example: "His people have been farmers for generations"
noun: the body of citizens of a state or country
Example: "The Spanish people"
noun: the common people generally
Example: "Power to the people"
verb: fill with people or supply with inhabitants
Example: "People a room"
verb: make one's home or live in
Example: "These people inhabited all the islands that are now deserted

Definitions of folk:


noun: people in general
Example: "They're just country folk"
noun: a social division of (usually preliterate) people
noun: the traditional and typically anonymous music that is an expression of the life of people in a community
noun: people descended from a common ancestor

Note here that "folk" is plural. The "s" is superfluous

Definitions of folks:


noun: your parents
Example: "He wrote to his folks every day"