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Ask for help > Persons?!!!
Persons?!!!
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Sara5
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Persons?!!!
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Dear members,
I know that the plural of person is people, but is it right to say persons. I came across this word in a novel ( Les Miserables by Victor Hugo page 1)
The sentence: You have twenty-six persons |
14 Apr 2010
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donapeter
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Some nouns have two plurals, one used to refer to a number of things considered individually, the other to refer to a number of things collectively. In some cases, one of the two is nowadays archaic or dialectal.
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14 Apr 2010
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chenchen_castrourdiales
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I �m not an English native speaker but I I had the same doubt a few months ago and since one of my workmates is from England I asked her about it. She told me that the plural form of person is people, grammatically speaking. However, languages tend to avoid or get rid of irregular forms and it is getting more and more common to listen nowadays, even watching the BBC news, the word persons. She also told me that if you get on a lift in Britain you can also find on the sign written "No more than 4 persons". Anyway, she told me that it is safer to choose people as the plural form of person.
Hope it helps you. |
14 Apr 2010
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yanogator
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Yes, as donapeter said, we occasionally use "persons" if we intend the listener to think of them as individuals. It �s very uncommon, though. "No more than 4 people" would sound much more natural.
"Brethren" is an old word, and is now usually only used in religious contexts, not in family relationships.
Bruce |
14 Apr 2010
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Jayho
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Hi all
You can read a BBC blog on persons/people here. I tend to associate persons with the legal world.
Wow - I never knew brethren was the former plural of brother even though I do hear it in movies. I always associated it with religion. So, I learnt something new today.
Cheers --- Jayho
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15 Apr 2010
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aliciapc
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You learnt something new ! And you �re a native... imagine us !  |
15 Apr 2010
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