Monday, November 14, 2005

I’ve noticed a lot of people starting to use the word “persons” when they are referring to “people.” It is starting to bother me a bit because it is sloppy grammar.

Persons as defined by Dictionary.com:

per·son Pronunciation Key (pûrsn)
n.
1. A living human. Often used in combination: chairperson; spokesperson; salesperson.
2. An individual of specified character: a person of importance.
3. The composite of characteristics that make up an individual personality; the self.
4. The living body of a human: searched the prisoner’s person.
5. Physique and general appearance.
6. Law. A human or organization with legal rights and duties.
7. Christianity. Any of the three separate individualities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as distinguished from the essence of the Godhead that unites them.
8. Grammar.
a. Any of three groups of pronoun forms with corresponding verb inflections that distinguish the speaker (first person), the individual addressed (second person), and the individual or thing spoken of (third person).
b. Any of the different forms or inflections expressing these distinctions.
9. A character or role, as in a play; a guise: “Well, in her person, I say I will not have you” (Shakespeare).

Note that there is not a reference to plural in the definition. That is because the word person is not meant to be plural as these recent offenders have used it. People is the word they really should be using.

People as defined by Dictionary.com:

peo·ple Pronunciation Key (ppl)
n. pl. people
1. Humans considered as a group or in indefinite numbers: People were dancing in the street. I met all sorts of people.
2. A body of persons living in the same country under one national government; a nationality.
3. pl. peo·ples A body of persons sharing a common religion, culture, language, or inherited condition of life.
4. Persons with regard to their residence, class, profession, or group: city people.
5. The mass of ordinary persons; the populace. Used with the: “those who fear and distrust the people, and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes” (Thomas Jefferson).
6. The citizens of a political unit, such as a nation or state; the electorate. Used with the.
7. Persons subordinate to or loyal to a ruler, superior, or employer: The queen showed great compassion for her people.
8. Family, relatives, or ancestors.
9. Informal. Animals or other beings distinct from humans: Rabbits and squirrels are the furry little people of the woods.

I think that people try to sound smarter than they need and instead they sound dumber than they are. More often than not, the shorter and more common way of hearing a word used is the right way to speak or write. I can’t tell you how many times I would slash through “utilize” and change it to “use” in reports and proposals when I was a technical writer. So make note: “person” is not automatically pluralable (yes, I know that’s not a real word, but you understand what I’m saying there, right?) nor is it interchangeable with “people.”

LATER: I realize that the definition for “people” uses “persons” a lot. I admit that I could be wrong on this one. I tried to verify my grammar check online with no success. I don’t have a grammar book handy. So you other grammarphiles, chime in if you agree or disagree. Maybe it’s just my own preference. But it definitely grinds my ear to hear it.