"People" is a generic term for more than one person.
"Persons" denotes a singular distinct grouping of people. Ie, Native American persons.
Are you sure about that? Cause it sounds like you've never spoken to a native English speaker about the terms here.
A group of persons with a commonality are a people. The individuals are persons within a group. You can say "a group of people", but that's different (like a sheep vs. a flock of sheep and also a distraction here). The group is a people. People is not a generic term for multiple persons, it's implicitly a group with some commonality. Nobody says "the American persons", it's "the American people". The "various peoples of North America" would refer to a plurality of various and distinct groups of persons.
Sure you are. God I hope you're lying because your flippant arrogance is a toxic quality for a teacher to demonstrate like this. This person wasn't asking for an anthropologist's academic use of people vs. persons.
peoples /pē′pəl/
Plural form of people
noun Humans considered as a group or in indefinite numbers. Often treated as a plural of person, especially in compounds. "People were dancing in the street. I met all sorts of people. This book is not intended for laypeople." The mass of ordinary persons; the populace. Used with the. **A body of persons **living in the same country under one national government; a nationality. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition • More at Wordnik
peoples plural of people (“a race, group or nationality”) The course studies the history of Africa and the peoples who lived there.