I am having a hard time determining the correct usage when referring to my staff in a sentence. It includes multiple employees.
Should I say"
Staff were busy this fall or
Staff was busy this fall....
HELP!
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Exact duplicate. – tchrist♦ Oct 10 '15 at 18:58
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In British English, it's not uncommon for staff to be followed by a plural verb. So, "our staff were busy".
In American English, "our staff was busy" is correct.
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1...and this is American English because the OP talks about Fall rather than Autumn. – chasly from UK Oct 10 '15 at 18:55
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I assume you're right. Incidentally, you guys never ever use fall? It is exclusively American? – A.P. Oct 10 '15 at 18:58
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2Using fall for the season is originally a British thing but which per the OED is now rare in literary use there, although still found in some dialects. Like many linguistics castoffs, it was preserved in North America. – tchrist♦ Oct 10 '15 at 19:01
