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?