UrbanPro

Learn Spoken English from the Best Tutors

  • Affordable fees
  • 1-1 or Group class
  • Flexible Timings
  • Verified Tutors

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

Asked by Last Modified  

Follow 4
Answer

Please enter your answer

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

Tutor

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

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

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

Japanese Language Trainer

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

Trainer

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

Oracle, Hindi, C++, C, MS Office, VBScript,JavaScript,Spoken English etc with 29 years of experience

The staff are on leave today.
Comments

M.A.

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

Teacher for all subjects.

The staff is on leave today.
Comments

Both are correct.
Comments

View 40 more Answers

Related Questions

What do I teach on the 2nd day of a spoken English class?
Any spoken english class should consist of teaching grammers before letting the kid to construct his or her own sentences.
Harvir
0 0
6
Indian Languages, by and large, seem to have Spelling Pronunciation while English alphabet behaves as per the word concerned. For example, Letter 'A' has different roles in the following words At, Above, All etc. How English could start ruling the Globe with these shortcomings?
It was not the language that ruled the world, it was their nation that developed faster than other nations and gained a dominating aspect over other nations. Thus with their economic activities, the world...
Singaravelu Subramaniam
1 0
9
How to improve our self confidence when I talked a group of people then I m feeling very nervousness. I can't speak anyword, I m feeling hesitate.
Firstly, believe in yourself. Secondly, don't obsess over thoughts like 'what would people think about me?' or 'are people judging me?' or 'am I not good enough?', etc. Love yourself and appreciate the...
Bipin
What is the subjunctive mood in English?
Subjunctive mood in English refers to expressing feelings for situations that are speculative or theoritical. It is used to convey wish or advice.
T.v.
0 0
5

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

Ask a Question

Related Lessons

Types of Noun - Basic English
Kinds of Nouns: 1. Proper Noun 2. Common Noun 3. Collective Noun 4. Abstract Noun Proper Noun - A proper noun is the name of some particular person or place. Proper nouns are always written with a...

Five Words with Meaning,Sentence Usage & Synonyms
1.Adversary (noun) MEANING: One who opposes or resists SENTENCE USAGE: Joseph hoped to defeat his adversary in the afternoon's tennis match. Synonyms: opponent, enemy 2. Absolve (verb) MEANING:...

Myths in English
Find out the easy explanation of why and how anyone can 'Learn to speak English without hesitation' in the below video. Also, know about Myths and Realities of Spoken English learning

Practical approach to Communication & Spoken English and Misunderstandings
A practical approach to Communication & Spoken English and Misunderstandings While working as a Professor in Communication & Soft Skills in reputed university and conducting workshops with other...

Spoken English
Hello everyone, So, now we will discuss' How to say English confidently.' We all want to speak English, but because of a lack of confidence, we are unable to say. We all know English a little bit from...
A

Recommended Articles

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 >

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 >

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 >

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 >

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
X

Looking for Spoken English Classes?

The best tutors for Spoken English Classes are on UrbanPro

  • Select the best Tutor
  • Book & Attend a Free Demo
  • Pay and start Learning

Learn Spoken English with the Best Tutors

The best Tutors for Spoken English Classes are on UrbanPro

This website uses cookies

We use cookies to improve user experience. Choose what cookies you allow us to use. You can read more about our Cookie Policy in our Privacy Policy

Accept All
Decline All

UrbanPro.com is India's largest network of most trusted tutors and institutes. Over 55 lakh students rely on UrbanPro.com, to fulfill their learning requirements across 1,000+ categories. Using UrbanPro.com, parents, and students can compare multiple Tutors and Institutes and choose the one that best suits their requirements. More than 7.5 lakh verified Tutors and Institutes are helping millions of students every day and growing their tutoring business on UrbanPro.com. Whether you are looking for a tutor to learn mathematics, a German language trainer to brush up your German language skills or an institute to upgrade your IT skills, we have got the best selection of Tutors and Training Institutes for you. Read more