Is Staff Singular Or Plural Grammar Girl?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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If the collective noun (staff) is acting as a single unit, use the singular verb: “The staff is very efficient.” If the collective noun is meant to highlight the actions of discrete individuals who are all doing different things, use the

plural

verb: “The staff are working on many projects for the holiday party.”

Are staff or is staff?


“Staff are” is

best used when the “staff” is acting as a plural unit. In a situation where the staff in question refers to a group of people, “staff are” is the correct format.

Can staff be plural?

Usage

Staff

may be used as a plural noun to mean the members of a staff. The company employs 20 full-time staff. The staff are at a meeting.

Can you say a staff?

Staff or

staffs

Answer: The correct word is staff if you are referring to a group of people within an organisation. Pam Peters points out that the use of staff as a collective noun creates the need for a word to describe an individual member of staff.

How do you use staff in a sentence?

  1. Bread is the staff of life.
  2. A staff is quickly found to beat a dog with.
  3. All the hospital staff were wonderfully supportive.
  4. There are standard procedures for dismissing staff.
  5. We’ll be down to a skeleton staff over Christmas.
  6. He refused to name the members of staff involved.

What kind of noun is staff?


A collective noun

is a word that describes a number of objects or people — examples include staff, group, band, and team.

What is the difference between staff and employee?

The Difference Between Staff and Employees

Employees are

people who are being paid wages or salary by their employer

whereas, staff are not necessarily being paid. Staff include contractors and volunteers, they do not have to be employed but employees have legal status.

Is Office plural or singular?

singular office
plural


offices

What is a member of staff?

member of staff in British English

(ˈmɛmbər əv stɑːf) noun.

an employee of a particular organization

.

]

The school has 56 members of staff, around half of whom are teachers.

How do you use the word staff?

  1. [S] [T] I speak French to my staff. ( …
  2. [S] [T] I’ll discuss it with my staff. ( …
  3. [S] [T] We have staff meetings on Monday. ( …
  4. [S] [T] I get along well with all the staff. ( …
  5. [S] [T] I’m in the middle of a staff meeting. ( …
  6. [S] [T] Do you think she can handle her staff? ( …
  7. [S] [T] We have a good negotiator on the staff. (

Is the word staff demeaning?

Staff is a

word that needs to disappear from the language we use in the office or workplace

. It’s an impersonal, hierarchical, old-fashioned noun that’s too ‘Downton Abbey’ and limits an organisation’s ability to inspire passion and innovation in people.

What is another word for staff member?

  • breadwinner.
  • employee.
  • income producer.
  • jobholder.
  • one who brings home the bacon.
  • salaried worker.
  • staffer.
  • wage slave.

What part of speech is staff?

part of speech:

noun
part of speech: transitive verb inflections: staffs, staffing, staffed definition: to provide with a group of paid or volunteer employees. They staffed the event with volunteers from their church. similar words: man, outfit Word CombinationsSubscriber feature About this feature

Is people a collective noun?

A collective noun is used to refer to an entire group of

persons

, animals or things; it therefore includes more than one member. Here are some examples of common collective nouns: … People: board, choir, class, committee, family, group, jury, panel, staff.

Is nursing staff singular or plural?

The plural form of staff nurse is

staff nurses

.

Rachel Ostrander
Author
Rachel Ostrander
Rachel is a career coach and HR consultant with over 5 years of experience working with job seekers and employers. She holds a degree in human resources management and has worked with leading companies such as Google and Amazon. Rachel is passionate about helping people find fulfilling careers and providing practical advice for navigating the job market.