VOA一分鐘英語(yǔ)：用法辨析：person 和 people

名詞 “person/persons、people/peoples” 的基本含義都是 “人”，但它們之間的具體區(qū)別是什么？“Person” 和 “persons”，哪一個(gè)更加書面化？名詞 “peoples” 的特殊含義是
什么？
 
文字稿
Dan
Hi, I’m Dan from BBC Learning English and today I’m going to talk to you about person and persons, people and peoples.
A person is a human man, woman, or child. It is a singular countable noun. There was one person at the door.
The plural of person is people. It refers to a group or a number of human beings. It is a plural countable noun. There were three people at the door.
So how about persons?
Persons is a plural countable noun. It's similar to people, but it's considered more polite and more formal. It’s most often seen written down. This lift can hold a maximum of 15 persons.
And peoples?
Peoples is the countable plural form of people and comes from the other meaning of people. People can mean nation. The Aztecs were a people that lived in the Americas. Or, there are many peoples living on the Earth. They are all human - so far.
 
用法總結(jié)
1 Person
A person is a human man, woman, or child. It is a singular countable noun. 
一個(gè) “person” 可以是一個(gè)男人、女人或小孩，它是單數(shù)名詞。
There was one person at the door.
When did you see this suspicious person?
She's a very interesting person. You should talk to her.
 
2 People 
The plural of person is people. It refers to a group or a number of human beings. It is a plural countable noun.
“People” 是 “person” 的復(fù)數(shù)形式，指一組人或一些人。“People” 是復(fù)數(shù)名詞。
There were three people at the door.
How many people do you know?
The people who live here are very rich.
 
3 People and peoples
People can also mean nation. Peoples is the plural form of this meaning. Peoples means nations.
“People” 也可以表示 “民族”。“Peoples” 是 “people” 表達(dá)這個(gè)意思時(shí)的復(fù)數(shù)形式。“Peoples” 的意思是 “多個(gè)民族”。
The Aztecs were a people that lived in the Americas.
The English are a creative people.
There are many peoples living on the Earth.
When the peoples of the Earth unite, we will have peace.
 
4 Persons
Persons is a more formal, more polite form of people. It's a plural countable noun and is most often seen written down - such as on signs, in newspapers and in the context of the law.
“Persons” 是 “people” 更正式、更禮貌的說(shuō)法。它是復(fù)數(shù)名詞，多用于書面語(yǔ)中，比如在標(biāo)語(yǔ)上、報(bào)紙上和法律文件中。
This lift can hold a maximum of 15 persons.
The police expect to catch the persons responsible for the theft.
My client has never seen these persons before and so he is innocent.