Teacher Discussion Forums

So I'm curious about the word 'staff'.......

I am a staff member at SMU.

I am an SMU staff.

I am a member of the staff at SMU.



We lost three key staff members yesterday.

We lost three key staff yesterday.

We lost three key members of our staff yesterday.


So what sounds right and what sounds wrong above? Can we use staff as a countable noun, and if so, is the plural 'staff' or 'staffs'? Some searching around google and the BNC has given me some examples of the above uses. Are they correct in your variant?

Jimbobob wrote:So I'm curious about the word 'staff'.......

I am a staff member at SMU.

I am an SMU staff.

I am a member of the staff at SMU.



We lost three key staff members yesterday.

We lost three key staff yesterday.

We lost three key members of our staff yesterday.


So what sounds right and what sounds wrong above? Can we use staff as a countable noun, and if so, is the plural 'staff' or 'staffs'? Some searching around google and the BNC has given me some examples of the above uses. Are they correct in your variant?

My variant doesn't accept the second of each of the three examples. I could say, however, "I am on the staff at SMU." Just to throw in another one

I would say only an SMU staff is incorrect.

Strange that staff can be a plural count noun but not a singular one.