Person meaning in English

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Definition

a person: a human, an individual noun
Note that "persons" is rarely used in everyday English as the plural form of "person". The common rule is: one person, two people. "Persons" is used in formal and legal contexts:
No more than 8 persons in this lift.

Examples

  • "You see, I live in the United States, or "the colonies" as one person told me in the metro."
  • "I would have singled out just one person, but unfortunately science is not an exact science."
  • "Person 2: Bye."
  • "Many women have tried, and yet none have succeeded in making me into a decent person!"
  • "I'm just a cut-price person in a low-budget land."
  • "When she speaks to me I feel like I am the only person in the room."
  • "I like to send people a stream - or should I say glacier - of passive-aggressive emails until the person becomes numb and confused and eventually falls into a frozen lake."
  • "Wearing this suit actually makes me feel like a better person."
  • "Who's the lucky... person?"
  • "Philip : That's because you are the only person in the room – she's on TV, dude."
  • "Bruno found this person in Tabitha Cashman, a venture capitalist and senior partner working for the large investment firm Cashman, Billfold & Green."
  • "Do you know what happened to the last person who didn't think my jokes were funny?"
  • "This development pleases me, and I would like to congratulate this person on their desire to attain Nirvana with us, or possibly just Soundgarden."
  • "Brian : She had a famous person in her cab."
Exercise 1
Brian: Really? Whom did you speak with?
Quentin: Oh, you know, many persons.

Quentin use of "persons" is incorrect. He should have said: "Oh, you know, many ."

Brian: Really? Whom did you speak with?
Quentin: Oh, you know, many persons.

Quentin use of "persons" is incorrect. He should have said: "Oh, you know, many people."
people: "People" is a collective noun often used as the plural form of "person", for example: The plane crash killed 240 people. "Persons" is still used in formal or legal situations, for example: The victim was killed by person or persons unknown. Note that "people" does have a plural form ("peoples") which refers to more than one community or nation, for example: I have been writing a history on the peoples of Middle Earth.

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