Is it correct to say persons?
Abigail Rogers
Updated on March 01, 2026
Hereof, is it correct to say two persons?
Your first choice when talking about more than one person is "(two) people". "Persons" only makes sense if you mean "individuals" and as ??? has pointed out, this is quite uncommon. Persons is an old word, from formal English.
Similarly, why do we say persons? Many usage guides over the years have suggested that there is a clear distinction between these two words; people is used when referring to a collective group or indeterminate number, and persons serves better when referring to individuals (or a number of individuals).
People also ask, when should you use the word persons?
2 Answers. Traditionally, persons was the correct plural of person, but people has become widely accepted as such. One rule that is sometimes used is to use persons if the number of people is countable and people otherwise. However, this is generally only used in formal and legal contexts.
Can I say 3 persons?
There is confusion about the best way to describe more than one person. It often feels better to speak of “three people” rather than “three persons”, but this suggests that people is the plural of person. The normal plural of person was persons, as in “two persons were present”.
Related Question Answers
What is 1 person 2 person and 3 person?
First person is the I/we perspective. Second person is the you perspective. Third person is the he/she/it/they perspective.What persona means?
A persona (plural personae or personas), depending to the context, can refer to either the public image of one's personality, or the social role that one adopts, or a fictional character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatrical mask.Is it one word or two?
A common error is to confuse into, spelled as one word, with the two words in to. When deciding which is right for your sentence, remember that into is a preposition that shows what something is within or inside. As separate words, in and to sometimes simply wind up next to each other.How do you use the word what?
What is a wh-word. We use what to ask questions and as a pronoun and determiner.Can persons be used?
So basically, both person and people can be used as singular nouns, people can be used as a plural noun and persons and peoples are also acceptable plural forms. I would say that these days, using people as a singular noun and both peoples and persons are fairly uncommon and do sound quite formal.Is People's a real word?
People is the correct word. If you are talking about the plural, then particularly use people, but if you are talking about pointing or showing some possession of something to any plural category then people's is okay.What is the plural form of woman?
Examples| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| woman | women |
| man | men |
| child | children |
| tooth | teeth |
How many persons are there in English grammar?
three personsWhat is the definition for plural?
1 : of, relating to, or constituting a class of grammatical forms usually used to denote more than one or in some languages more than two.What is plural for man?
Irregular plural nouns are nouns that do not become plural by adding -s or -es, as most nouns in the English language do. For example, the plural form of man is men, not mans. The plural form of woman is women, not womans.What is the plural of deer?
deer in American English(d?r ) nounWord forms: plural deer or deers. 1. any of a family (Cervidae) of ruminants, including the elk, moose, and reindeer; esp., the smaller species, as the white-tailed deer and mule deer: in most species, usually only the males grow and shed bony antlers annually.
What is grammar person?
Grammatical PersonPerson is a category used to distinguish between (1) those speaking, (2) those being addressed, and (3) those who are neither speaking nor being addressed (i.e., everybody else). These three categories are called the first person, the second person, and the third person.
