The English language has a lot of quirks. Sometimes, a word that usually falls within one word class (or part of speech) can be used in another. A great example is the word brick. Brick is usually a noun, but when it’s used in the phrase brick wall, it’s actually a modifier!
Person is another word that can fall into different word classes. We usually see person as a noun, but it also has a verb form. In fact, it has several verb forms. In today’s blog post, we’ll take a look at the various verb forms of person and how to use them correctly.
Personate means to portray someone else, whether it’s playing the part of a character, imitating for fraudulent reasons or entertainment (impersonate), or taking on someone else’s characteristics. Here’s an example:
The actor personated the complicated character very well.
When you personalize something, it means you’re customizing it to someone’s requirements or making it about a specific person or their qualities, experiences, or feelings. Here are two examples:
You need to personalize each Christmas card.
There was no need to personalize that debate.
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Personify means to give an object human or natural characteristics, to represent a quality or concept as a human, or to embody an idea or concept. Here’s an example:
She has an amazing ability to personify charm and grace.
If you people something, you populate it. Here’s an example:
We haven’t managed to people Mars yet, but it could happen.
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