There is only one people in the barn or....

people is plural; you can't have one people.

There is one person in the barn.

There are two people in the barn.

nona the britpeople is plural; you can't have one people.

Then what about this one:

We as a people will reach the Promised Land.

Thanks a lot
*** bless

MrPernickety

Then what about this one:

We as a people will reach the Promised Land.

Good question. See this article on Answers.com for a very thorough discussion of this use of "people." In particular see the Usage Note.

That is using 'people' with a completely different meaning. I doubt very much you could fit all of any of the 'peoples' of the world into a single barn, unless they were about to go extinct, and somehow I doubt that is what the OP was talking about. Was it helpful to learners of English to have this thread made so confusing?

nona the brit Was it helpful to learners of English to have this thread made so confusing?

Sorry, I didn't mean to

I was trying to get to the bottom of the riddle with people v.s. a people.

This concept of "there are people" and "there is a people" is just so darn difficult to me, it makes my hair stand on end at the back of