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I Make Others Sound Smart Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
appear to be or appears to be
Dear Friends,
This is my first post although I use the site frequently. Which is correct?
"The staff at the Mercer One-Stop appear to have a significant case load."
or
"The staff at the Mercer One-Stop appears to have a significant case load."
This is my first post although I use the site frequently. Which is correct?
"The staff at the Mercer One-Stop appear to have a significant case load."
or
"The staff at the Mercer One-Stop appears to have a significant case load."
Top answer
[8] I am not a native speaker but I have an idea. if you talk about the staff as a group it must be "apeears" but if you talk about the staff individual by indivudall than you can consider it plural and it must be "appear" in my opinion.
- [8] I am not a native speaker but I have an idea.
- if you talk about the staff as a group it must be "apeears" but if you talk about the staff individual by indivudall than you can consider it plural and it must be "appear" in my opinion.
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8 Answers
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I am not a native speaker but I have an idea.
you are welcome.[8]
both of them can be correct depending on the meaning.if you talk about the staff as a group it must be "apeears" but if you talk about the staff individual by indivudal
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My opinion is this.
"Staff "always refers to a group of people. Plural verb is used usually. For a single person, 'a member of staff" is used.
"Staff "always refers to a group of people. Plural verb is used usually. For a single person, 'a member of staff" is used.
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Both are correct. Use the one or the other depending whether you consider the staff as a single unit ('staff appears') or whether you want your reader to think of each member of the staff individually ('staff appear'). The second of these makes "staff" equivalent to "members of the staff" without having to write it all out.
The tendency in American English is to choose the singul
The tendency in American English is to choose the singul
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CalifJimBoth are correct.I agree! My family is spread out across the country,
The tendency in American English is to choose the singular in such cases ('staff appears'), even though the plural is not unheard of there. I mention this in case you want the sentence to sound American rather than British.
CJ
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Hello Philip
As a BrE, I'm genetically programmed to say "my wife's family are". But I'm interested to see that though using "my family is", you can still say "their same tiny town" in AmE.
Would "its same tiny town" be possible, too?
MrP
As a BrE, I'm genetically programmed to say "my wife's family are". But I'm interested to see that though using "my family is", you can still say "their same tiny town" in AmE.
Would "its same tiny town" be possible, too?
MrP
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Good screen name, I Make Others, by the way. I wish I'd thought of it.
MrP
MrP
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MrPedanticHello PhilipI am SO glad you caught that!
As a BrE, I'm genetically programmed to say "my wife's family are". But I'm interested to see that though using "my family is", you can still say "their same tiny town" in AmE.
Would "its same tiny town" be possible, too?
MrP
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It seems to me that "their" is used to indicate only animacy, not plurality, so "its" would be unacceptable there.
(My two cents.) [Cf. "Everyone put their book on their desk", to avoid assigning gender, and as a (singular) substitute for the singular "his book on his desk".]
CJ
(My two cents.) [Cf. "Everyone put their book on their desk", to avoid assigning gender, and as a (singular) substitute for the singular "his book on his desk".]
CJ
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