People and Persons

[Jessica]

I've seen in some books that "persons" is used. Why do they use it? Why not "people"? The plural of person is "people" not "persons". I am confused

[Rusty]

People is usually a term applied to the masses. When used in this context, its synonym is human beings:
I'm a person. There are many people in the world.

If you're referring to a specific human being, the plural form is persons:
Who is this person? What can we learn from the persons who left their homelands to establish themselves in a foreign land?

If you're referring to the physical body, the plural is always persons:
What did he have on his person when he was apprehended? They all had vials of poison on their persons.

There is a grammatical person, as in first person, second person and third person. The plural is always persons:
In third person, the conjugated form is has. In first and second persons, however, it is have.

A corporation can be designated as a person in a court of law. Its plural is persons.

[Jessica]

ohh thank you