How to use 'people' and 'they'











up vote
0
down vote

favorite












I am not a native speaker and I get confused with the use of the words 'people' and 'they'. Do the following sentences mean the same?




When people heard the news, the bravest volunteers came forward with
help.



When they heard the news, the bravest volunteers came forward with
help.




Can we use 'they' in front of the noun phrase as in the second sentence?










share|improve this question
















bumped to the homepage by Community 9 mins ago


This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.















  • Yes; that's correct.
    – Robert
    Oct 10 at 2:21










  • Lee, you might consider looking on English Language Learners for guidance on future questions.
    – Chappo
    Oct 10 at 2:50






  • 1




    Is there any difference in meaning between these two sentences? I am not sure about the referents of the word 'people' and 'they'. Does 'people' refer to everyone and 'they' refer to 'the bravest volunteers'? Thank you.
    – Lee
    Oct 10 at 3:02










  • That should go into the question. Most will miss it if you post it as a comment. Please edit.
    – Kris
    Oct 10 at 6:01










  • Yes, we can use. The sentences may or may not mean the same depending on the broader context.
    – Kris
    Oct 10 at 6:04















up vote
0
down vote

favorite












I am not a native speaker and I get confused with the use of the words 'people' and 'they'. Do the following sentences mean the same?




When people heard the news, the bravest volunteers came forward with
help.



When they heard the news, the bravest volunteers came forward with
help.




Can we use 'they' in front of the noun phrase as in the second sentence?










share|improve this question
















bumped to the homepage by Community 9 mins ago


This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.















  • Yes; that's correct.
    – Robert
    Oct 10 at 2:21










  • Lee, you might consider looking on English Language Learners for guidance on future questions.
    – Chappo
    Oct 10 at 2:50






  • 1




    Is there any difference in meaning between these two sentences? I am not sure about the referents of the word 'people' and 'they'. Does 'people' refer to everyone and 'they' refer to 'the bravest volunteers'? Thank you.
    – Lee
    Oct 10 at 3:02










  • That should go into the question. Most will miss it if you post it as a comment. Please edit.
    – Kris
    Oct 10 at 6:01










  • Yes, we can use. The sentences may or may not mean the same depending on the broader context.
    – Kris
    Oct 10 at 6:04













up vote
0
down vote

favorite









up vote
0
down vote

favorite











I am not a native speaker and I get confused with the use of the words 'people' and 'they'. Do the following sentences mean the same?




When people heard the news, the bravest volunteers came forward with
help.



When they heard the news, the bravest volunteers came forward with
help.




Can we use 'they' in front of the noun phrase as in the second sentence?










share|improve this question















I am not a native speaker and I get confused with the use of the words 'people' and 'they'. Do the following sentences mean the same?




When people heard the news, the bravest volunteers came forward with
help.



When they heard the news, the bravest volunteers came forward with
help.




Can we use 'they' in front of the noun phrase as in the second sentence?







word-choice






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Oct 10 at 2:52

























asked Oct 10 at 2:16









Lee

42




42





bumped to the homepage by Community 9 mins ago


This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.







bumped to the homepage by Community 9 mins ago


This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.














  • Yes; that's correct.
    – Robert
    Oct 10 at 2:21










  • Lee, you might consider looking on English Language Learners for guidance on future questions.
    – Chappo
    Oct 10 at 2:50






  • 1




    Is there any difference in meaning between these two sentences? I am not sure about the referents of the word 'people' and 'they'. Does 'people' refer to everyone and 'they' refer to 'the bravest volunteers'? Thank you.
    – Lee
    Oct 10 at 3:02










  • That should go into the question. Most will miss it if you post it as a comment. Please edit.
    – Kris
    Oct 10 at 6:01










  • Yes, we can use. The sentences may or may not mean the same depending on the broader context.
    – Kris
    Oct 10 at 6:04


















  • Yes; that's correct.
    – Robert
    Oct 10 at 2:21










  • Lee, you might consider looking on English Language Learners for guidance on future questions.
    – Chappo
    Oct 10 at 2:50






  • 1




    Is there any difference in meaning between these two sentences? I am not sure about the referents of the word 'people' and 'they'. Does 'people' refer to everyone and 'they' refer to 'the bravest volunteers'? Thank you.
    – Lee
    Oct 10 at 3:02










  • That should go into the question. Most will miss it if you post it as a comment. Please edit.
    – Kris
    Oct 10 at 6:01










  • Yes, we can use. The sentences may or may not mean the same depending on the broader context.
    – Kris
    Oct 10 at 6:04
















Yes; that's correct.
– Robert
Oct 10 at 2:21




Yes; that's correct.
– Robert
Oct 10 at 2:21












Lee, you might consider looking on English Language Learners for guidance on future questions.
– Chappo
Oct 10 at 2:50




Lee, you might consider looking on English Language Learners for guidance on future questions.
– Chappo
Oct 10 at 2:50




1




1




Is there any difference in meaning between these two sentences? I am not sure about the referents of the word 'people' and 'they'. Does 'people' refer to everyone and 'they' refer to 'the bravest volunteers'? Thank you.
– Lee
Oct 10 at 3:02




Is there any difference in meaning between these two sentences? I am not sure about the referents of the word 'people' and 'they'. Does 'people' refer to everyone and 'they' refer to 'the bravest volunteers'? Thank you.
– Lee
Oct 10 at 3:02












That should go into the question. Most will miss it if you post it as a comment. Please edit.
– Kris
Oct 10 at 6:01




That should go into the question. Most will miss it if you post it as a comment. Please edit.
– Kris
Oct 10 at 6:01












Yes, we can use. The sentences may or may not mean the same depending on the broader context.
– Kris
Oct 10 at 6:04




Yes, we can use. The sentences may or may not mean the same depending on the broader context.
– Kris
Oct 10 at 6:04










1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes

















up vote
0
down vote













I would add that 'they' is more specific than 'people'.
In the first sentence, all the people within a certain definition, class, or area heard the news but the bravest volunteers among them came forward.
In the second sentence, 'they' refers directly to 'the bravest volunteers' who came forward because they heard the news. Whether other people also heard the news or not (in sentence 2) is somewhat irrelevant.






share|improve this answer





















  • Thank you very much for your explanation.
    – Lee
    Oct 10 at 6:47










  • @Lee If you like an answer, upvote it by clicking the up-arrow to the left of the answer. After at least a day or so (enough time for people in various time zones to participate), if you are particularly happy with one of the answers, award it the green tick. It should be to the left of the answer as well. Awarding the green tick marks your question as answered.
    – Lawrence
    Oct 10 at 8:04













Your Answer








StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});

function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});


}
});














draft saved

draft discarded


















StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f467597%2fhow-to-use-people-and-they%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown

























1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes








1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes








up vote
0
down vote













I would add that 'they' is more specific than 'people'.
In the first sentence, all the people within a certain definition, class, or area heard the news but the bravest volunteers among them came forward.
In the second sentence, 'they' refers directly to 'the bravest volunteers' who came forward because they heard the news. Whether other people also heard the news or not (in sentence 2) is somewhat irrelevant.






share|improve this answer





















  • Thank you very much for your explanation.
    – Lee
    Oct 10 at 6:47










  • @Lee If you like an answer, upvote it by clicking the up-arrow to the left of the answer. After at least a day or so (enough time for people in various time zones to participate), if you are particularly happy with one of the answers, award it the green tick. It should be to the left of the answer as well. Awarding the green tick marks your question as answered.
    – Lawrence
    Oct 10 at 8:04

















up vote
0
down vote













I would add that 'they' is more specific than 'people'.
In the first sentence, all the people within a certain definition, class, or area heard the news but the bravest volunteers among them came forward.
In the second sentence, 'they' refers directly to 'the bravest volunteers' who came forward because they heard the news. Whether other people also heard the news or not (in sentence 2) is somewhat irrelevant.






share|improve this answer





















  • Thank you very much for your explanation.
    – Lee
    Oct 10 at 6:47










  • @Lee If you like an answer, upvote it by clicking the up-arrow to the left of the answer. After at least a day or so (enough time for people in various time zones to participate), if you are particularly happy with one of the answers, award it the green tick. It should be to the left of the answer as well. Awarding the green tick marks your question as answered.
    – Lawrence
    Oct 10 at 8:04















up vote
0
down vote










up vote
0
down vote









I would add that 'they' is more specific than 'people'.
In the first sentence, all the people within a certain definition, class, or area heard the news but the bravest volunteers among them came forward.
In the second sentence, 'they' refers directly to 'the bravest volunteers' who came forward because they heard the news. Whether other people also heard the news or not (in sentence 2) is somewhat irrelevant.






share|improve this answer












I would add that 'they' is more specific than 'people'.
In the first sentence, all the people within a certain definition, class, or area heard the news but the bravest volunteers among them came forward.
In the second sentence, 'they' refers directly to 'the bravest volunteers' who came forward because they heard the news. Whether other people also heard the news or not (in sentence 2) is somewhat irrelevant.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered Oct 10 at 6:16









Max K

813




813












  • Thank you very much for your explanation.
    – Lee
    Oct 10 at 6:47










  • @Lee If you like an answer, upvote it by clicking the up-arrow to the left of the answer. After at least a day or so (enough time for people in various time zones to participate), if you are particularly happy with one of the answers, award it the green tick. It should be to the left of the answer as well. Awarding the green tick marks your question as answered.
    – Lawrence
    Oct 10 at 8:04




















  • Thank you very much for your explanation.
    – Lee
    Oct 10 at 6:47










  • @Lee If you like an answer, upvote it by clicking the up-arrow to the left of the answer. After at least a day or so (enough time for people in various time zones to participate), if you are particularly happy with one of the answers, award it the green tick. It should be to the left of the answer as well. Awarding the green tick marks your question as answered.
    – Lawrence
    Oct 10 at 8:04


















Thank you very much for your explanation.
– Lee
Oct 10 at 6:47




Thank you very much for your explanation.
– Lee
Oct 10 at 6:47












@Lee If you like an answer, upvote it by clicking the up-arrow to the left of the answer. After at least a day or so (enough time for people in various time zones to participate), if you are particularly happy with one of the answers, award it the green tick. It should be to the left of the answer as well. Awarding the green tick marks your question as answered.
– Lawrence
Oct 10 at 8:04






@Lee If you like an answer, upvote it by clicking the up-arrow to the left of the answer. After at least a day or so (enough time for people in various time zones to participate), if you are particularly happy with one of the answers, award it the green tick. It should be to the left of the answer as well. Awarding the green tick marks your question as answered.
– Lawrence
Oct 10 at 8:04




















draft saved

draft discarded




















































Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!


  • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

But avoid



  • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

  • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.





Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.


Please pay close attention to the following guidance:


  • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

But avoid



  • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

  • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




draft saved


draft discarded














StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f467597%2fhow-to-use-people-and-they%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown





















































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown

































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown







Popular posts from this blog

數位音樂下載

When can things happen in Etherscan, such as the picture below?

格利澤436b