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Barry
interact with people/others/other people "You should try to interact with people rather than sitting alone in the corner." Do you native English speakers consider it a correct and natural sentence? I think the word "people" is a little odd here. It should be changed to "others". Am I right? And if the choice of "others" is natural, how about "other people"? Thanks!

Answers · 3

3
Do you native English speakers consider it a correct and natural sentence? Yes. It's correct and it's natural. I think the word "people" is a little odd here. It isn't. It should be changed to "others". No , it shouldn't. Am I right? No, you aren't. And if the choice of "others" is natural.... it's OK, but it isn't especially natural. In this context, 'people' means 'other people'. The 'other' part of it goes without saying - we know that 'people' doesn't include the addressee in this sentence. ... how about "other people"? It's OK, but it isn't an improvement. The original version is fine as it is. 'People' is a better choice of words than 'others' in this sentence. It emphasises the idea that the person in question should interact with human beings, rather than sitting in his own little world or interacting with his smartphone.
2
"You should try to interact with others than sitting alone in the corner." I would express in this way!! :) shorter and direct.
1
I would personally say others, but people sounds perfectly natural to me too!

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