There are staff vs There is staff

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'There are staff' is used when referring to multiple staff members, while 'There is staff' is used when referring to a singular collective group of staff.

Last updated: March 30, 2024 • 3376 views

There are staff

This phrase is correct and commonly used when referring to multiple staff members.

This phrase is used when you want to indicate the presence of multiple staff members in a particular location or situation.

Examples:

There are staff members available to assist you.
There are staff in the office today.
There are staff members attending the conference.

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There are staff missing from every department.
There are staff outside waiting to use this room
Thus within the EU representations there are staff belonging to two different taxation systems.
At least five people are reported dead and over 100 injured, and there are staff unaccounted for.
As of 24 September 2007 there are 81 staff deployed with the EUPOL mission in Afghanistan.
It is important, furthermore, for Member States to ensure that there are sufficient staff to perform the relevant tasks.
While that may be true, the Commission must still ensure that there are sufficient staff resources to monitor this work.
As of 22 November 2007 there are 85 staff deployed with the mission.
But just remember, there are no support staff on site.
We have all arrived here today, there are many people in the Chamber, and there are many staff.
At the same time, funding is in short supply and there are not enough staff, in particular permanent staff.
Also in the relevant European Commission authority there are only 26 staff working, 4-5 of which deal with implementing legislation.
But there aren't enough staff to be able to work really efficiently.
Today the staff there are taking so long to send out.
The lives of United Nations staff there are not safe.
There are provisions in the Staff Regulations requiring certain categories of former employee to seek the permission of the institution to take jobs in other sensitive areas, but currently there are no members of staff so designated.
There are geologists on my staff who'd laugh at your speculations.
There are the problems with staff policy, and there is a lack of internal procedures where irregularities and corruption are suspected.
And you notice the staff - there are no notes contained in the lines.
Furthermore, despite significant improvements in the promotion of gender mainstreaming in the EU institutions, there are still not enough staff dedicated solely to this issue.

Alternatives:

There are employees
There are workers
There are team members
There are personnel

There is staff

This phrase is correct and commonly used when referring to a singular collective group of staff.

This phrase is used when you want to indicate the presence of a single group of staff, even though there may be multiple individuals within that group.