people 表示“人”時(shí)，是一個(gè)只表示復(fù)數(shù)意義的可數(shù)名詞，且不用詞尾 -s，如可以說(shuō) some people(一些人)，many people(許多人)等，但不能說(shuō) a people 或 one people。但是，若people表示“民族”，則為可數(shù)名詞，此時(shí)不僅可與不定冠詞連用，而且可以有復(fù)數(shù)形式。如：
The Chinese are a hard-working people. 中國(guó)人是一個(gè)勤勞的民族。
The peoples of the world are against it. 世界各國(guó)人民都反對(duì)它。
The English-speaking peoples share a common language. 講英語(yǔ)的各民族擁有共同的語(yǔ)言。
It’s a book for children about Africa and its peoples 那是一本有關(guān)非洲和非洲各民族的兒童讀物。
比較下面兩句：
How many peoples live in Asia? 亞洲有多少個(gè)民族?
How many people live in the room? 這房間住了多少人?
The Chinese are a hard-working people. 中國(guó)人是一個(gè)勤勞的民族。
The peoples of the world are against it. 世界各國(guó)人民都反對(duì)它。
The English-speaking peoples share a common language. 講英語(yǔ)的各民族擁有共同的語(yǔ)言。
It’s a book for children about Africa and its peoples 那是一本有關(guān)非洲和非洲各民族的兒童讀物。
比較下面兩句：
How many peoples live in Asia? 亞洲有多少個(gè)民族?
How many people live in the room? 這房間住了多少人?