高考英语语法:people与peoples
people 表示“人”时,是一个只表示复数意义的可数名词,且不用词尾 -s,如可以说 some people(一些人),many people(许多人)等,但不能说 a people 或 one people。但是,若people表示“民族”,则为可数名词,此时不仅可与不定冠词连用,而且可以有复数形式。如:
The Chinese are a hard-working people. 中国人是一个勤劳的民族。
The peoples of the world are against it. 世界各国人民都反对它。
The English-speaking peoples share a common language. 讲英语的各民族拥有共同的语言。
It’s a book for children about Africa and its peoples 那是一本有关非洲和非洲各民族的儿童读物。
比较下面两句:
How many peoples live in Asia? 亚洲有多少个民族?
How many people live in the room? 这房间住了多少人?