person

The word "person" is a noun that can be used to talk about any individual human being. It’s often used to avoid identifying a specific gender, male or female. A salesman, for example, is now referred to as a "salesperson."

Here are some examples for the word "person."

• There’s a person at the door.
• We saw a strange person enter the building.
• The person we interviewed for the position didn’t have the qualifications we were looking for.
• The person responsible for maintaining the storage facility quit his job this morning.
• The police have identified a person of interest in the investigation. (person of interest = a potential suspect)

When the word "person" is made plural, it becomes "persons," however, the word "people" is often a better choice:

• Several people entered the building.
• There are some people at the door.
• Some salespeople make a lot of money from their commissions.

This person works in the produce section of the grocery store.

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This page was published on May 29, 2017.