America's People and American People
2021-08-28
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Shohei from Japan. He says:
2I would like to know the difference between "America's" and "American."
3For example, are there any gaps (in meaning) between "America's people" and "American people"?
4Hi Shohei,
5The two phrases have the same general meaning.
6Both describe people who are from America or are living in America.
7 But there are a few minor differences.
8One difference between the phrases is their grammar.
9The word "America's" is a proper noun in possessive form.
10A proper noun is a particular name for a person, place or thing.
11The apostrophe -s after "America" shows possession.
12So, "America's people" means the people of, or belonging to, America.
13However, the word "American" is a proper adjective.
14In other words, it is an adjective formed from a proper noun.
15In the expression "American people," the word "American" is an adjective that describes the noun "people."
16"American people" is the more common way to describe people who are born in America or become American citizens.
17On the other hand, the phrase "America's people" is more literary.
18It is most often found in publications and documentary films, and on things like historical websites.
19There is also one small difference in meaning:
20"America's people" can mean everyone who lives in America, including some who may not officially be U.S. citizens.
21It can also refer to the nation's immigrant history.
22So, when a publication or film uses the phrase,
23they may talk about the many immigrant groups that make up the nation.
24And that's Ask a Teacher for this week.
25I'm Alice Bryant.
1This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Shohei from Japan. He says: 2Question: 3I would like to know the difference between "America's" and "American." For example, are there any gaps (in meaning) between "America's people" and "American people"? 4- Shohei, Japan 5Answer: 6Hi Shohei, 7The two phrases have the same general meaning. Both describe people who are from America or are living in America. But there are a few minor differences. 8One difference between the phrases is their grammar. 9The word "America's" is a proper noun in possessive form. A proper noun is a particular name for a person, place or thing. The apostrophe -s after "America" shows possession. So, "America's people" means the people of, or belonging to, America. 10However, the word "American" is a proper adjective. In other words, it is an adjective formed from a proper noun. In the expression "American people," the word "American" is an adjective that describes the noun "people." 11"American people" is the more common way to describe people who are born in America or become American citizens. 12On the other hand, the phrase "America's people" is more literary. It is most often found in publications and documentary films, and on things like historical websites. 13There is also one small difference in meaning: 14"America's people" can mean everyone who lives in America, including some who may not officially be U.S. citizens. It can also refer to the nation's immigrant history. So, when a publication or film uses the phrase, they may talk about the many immigrant groups that make up the nation. 15And that's Ask a Teacher for this week. 16I'm Alice Bryant. 17Alice Bryant wrote this lesson for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 18______________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20gap - n. a difference between two people or things 21phrase - n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence 22particular - adj. a specific person or thing that is being referred to 23apostrophe - n. the punctuation mark used to show that letters or numbers are missing 24literary - adj. concerning the writing, study, or content of literature