Bryan Garner (Garner's Modern American Usage) has half a page on this issue. In the end, he suggests that either usage works depending on whether "couple" is acting as an adjective that modifies "people" or a noun itself (in which case it would require the preposition "of" to link to another noun).
As for whether it denotes exactly two or possibly more or less depends on the usage. For example, a recipe that called for a "couple sprigs of rosemary" is probably not calling for exactly two sprigs but about that amount. Still, "couple" traditionally denotes a pair, just as the verb form denotes the joining of two things.
Okay, I think I've reached nerdiness quota for the day.
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syntheid
According to my guide . . .
Date: 2006-08-08 04:07 pm (UTC)As for whether it denotes exactly two or possibly more or less depends on the usage. For example, a recipe that called for a "couple sprigs of rosemary" is probably not calling for exactly two sprigs but about that amount. Still, "couple" traditionally denotes a pair, just as the verb form denotes the joining of two things.
Okay, I think I've reached nerdiness quota for the day.