Which is the correct sentence? The staff are on leave today. The staff is on leave today.

Asked by Last Modified  

42 Answers

Follow 4
Answer

Please enter your answer

Bhaskar Jyoti Bora

Tutor

Hi Manoj interesting question, see, staff meaning here a group of people together(became single or unity) and u have also mentioned The, it means u r particularly showing a staff, there is no one like this in the world. So your second sentence is correct I think.
Comments
Dislike Bookmark

English Trainer

Between the above captioned sentences, second sentence is correct as 'the staff' is considered as one team i.e a single unit or you may consider this as singular subject here and a singular subject takes a singular verb i.e 'is'.
Comments
Dislike Bookmark

Tutor

The staff is on leave today because staff is a single group.
Comments
Dislike Bookmark

E-Tutor for Spoken English, French and Communication

Oh wow. This is tricky because "staff" is a collective noun. Unfortunately, this means that it is an "it depends" situation. Now, in the above sentence, "staff" acts as a single unit (meaning that every member of the staff is doing the same thing, i.e., every member of the staff is on leave as a whole,...
read more
Oh wow. This is tricky because "staff" is a collective noun. Unfortunately, this means that it is an "it depends" situation. Now, in the above sentence, "staff" acts as a single unit (meaning that every member of the staff is doing the same thing, i.e., every member of the staff is on leave as a whole, thereby acting together as a single unit). So the correct version would be "The staff is on leave today." However if they weren't all on leave and acting as a single unit, then "are" is used. For example, consider the same sentence slightly changed: "Most of the staff are on leave today." or "Some of the staff are on leave today." See the difference? Here, all the staff members are not doing the same thing; only a certain number of people in the group are on leave. Hence, since they don't act together as a single unit here, "are" is used after the collective noun "staff". Hope this helps. :) read less
Comments
Dislike Bookmark

Japanese Language Trainer

Don't think that the burden is less. It's more challenging.
1 Comments
Dislike Bookmark

M.A.

I -think both are incorrecct. staff is a collective noun .You should say members of the staff are on leave.
Comments
Dislike Bookmark

Teacher for all subjects.

The staff is on leave today.
Comments
Dislike Bookmark

Trainer

The staff is on leave today is the correct one. Also you can write - "The staff members are on leave today"
Comments
Dislike Bookmark

Oracle, Hindi, C++, C, MS Office, VBScript,JavaScript,Spoken English etc with 32 years of experience

The staff are on leave today.
Comments
Dislike Bookmark

Both are correct.
Comments
Dislike Bookmark

View 40 more Answers

Related Questions

What are some good books on English grammar?
1. High School English Grammar and Composition By Wren and MartinThis is a famous book used since years to learn Good English Grammar.2. Oxford Modern English Grammar By Bas AartsThis is another...
Nagasanthoshi
What are the hardest things about English grammar?
Idioms, phrasal verb, spellings, pronunciation, vocabulary, tenses, dialects, complex word order, vowels.
Udaybhan
List the first-person singular pronouns.
The first person singular pronouns are I,me,my,mine and myself.These pronouns are used when referring to writer or speaker of a sentence.
Jacob
0 0
View Comments8
How can I efficiently improve my spoken English investing an hour a day at home?
It's best to start reading English books/novel and watch english movies, look for meaning of the words on Google or dictionary. Do conversations in english with friends and family. This is will give you a good English environment
Sample
0 0
View Comments6
Which are the best English Language coaching centres in Delhi?
I do online training on English Language , you can contact me
Abhishek
0 0
View Comments6

Now ask question in any of the 1000+ Categories, and get Answers from Tutors and Trainers on UrbanPro.com

Ask a Question

Related Lessons

How to Initiate Your Speech: Multiple Expressions & Phrases Used Worldwide
COMMUNICATION SKILL: Day-1 How to Initiate/ Your Sentences/ Speech: Sentence Starter In an informal conversation where people express their opinion: I would say…………………… ...

Shyam Kumar

2 0
View Comments0
Spoken English Basics - Direct and Indirect Speech
Direct and Indirect Speech he word of a speaker may be reported in two ways. 1. Direct Speech 2. Indirect Speech Direct Speech When we quote the actual words of a speaker, this is called direct speech....

Sridevi D.

1 0
View Comments0
The Importance of Gerunds in English Learning
Read the following sentences carefully. 1. Smoking is injurious to health. 2. Walking is good for health. 3. I like walking in the park. 4. He enjoys watching...
S

Sachin Sharma

0 0
View Comments0
Building Vocabulary - Condition and Changes
It is important to build ones vocabulary when learning to speak English. Keep a record of new words that you come across or learn and review them from time to time and try to use them. Read up as much...

Anindya Kumar G.

Tips for IELTS/PTE Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking
For IELTS/PTE Listening: Learn Keywords & Paraphrasing Listen Audios in different Accents & Speeds Listen to selected TED Audios Download the Spelling App Play the spelling challenge Be...

Shruti K.

4 0
View Comments0

Recommended Articles

Which language is more useful to learn French...

Learning any second language could be a little bit tricky. However, to learn a language, one needs to write, read, understand and speak it appropriately. Therefore, many students and professionals find it helpful in learning a foreign language from a reputable and reliable source. A second language helps them to increase...

Read full article >

Learning foreign language in India

If you think English is enough to communicate with anybody in this world, you are sadly misinformed. Statistically the highest spoken foreign language in the world is Chinese with 20.7%, followed by English at 6.2%. That means that 93.8% of people do not speak English. This makes it necessary to learn another foreign language...

Read full article >

Choosing the right Foreign Language to learn...

When globalization was out of picture, it was enough to know just the mother tongue. Since globalization and out-sourcing have become part of life, there is a nagging need to learn new languages. Foreign languages help us to communicate with potential clients, sell our ideas and bond with their culture. It could be opening...

Read full article >

Job Prospects for German Language Learners

Due to globalization of the Indian economy, the demand for learning foreign languages is on the rise. ITES (Information Technology Enabled Service) and Outsourcing have brought a lot of job opportunities paving the way for the learning foreign languages. German is the native language of more than 100 million people in...

Read full article >

Find Spoken English classes near you
Spoken English classes in Delhi
Spoken English classes in Bangalore
Spoken English classes in Hyderabad
Spoken English classes in Chennai
Spoken English classes in Mumbai
Spoken English classes in Kolkata
Spoken English classes in Pune
Spoken English classes in Noida
Spoken English classes in Gurgaon
Spoken English classes in Lucknow
Online Spoken English Classes

Looking for Spoken English classes?

Learn from the Best Tutors on UrbanPro

Are you a Tutor or Training Institute?

Join UrbanPro Today to find students near you