Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Username

juan

Member Since

March 5, 2004

Total number of comments

1

Total number of votes received

0

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Latest Comments

People(s)

  • March 5, 2004, 5:14pm

"People are stupid" is itself technically awkward, though we are used to hearing it. "People" is a collective term, while "persons" refers to individuals. So people are not stupid, persons are stupid.

However, Merriam-Webster acknowledges that "persons" is switched with "people." eg - "salepeople" instead of "salespersons."