staff vs. stuff (паронимы)
Дата публикации: Feb 07, 2016 6:52:59 PM
staff noun BrE /stɑːf/ ; NAmE /stæf/
1. [countable, usually singular, uncountable] all the workers employed in an organization considered as a group
medical staff
(British English) teaching staff
(British English) We have 20 part-time members of staff.
(North American English) staff members
staff development/training
a staff restaurant/meeting
(especially British English) a lawyer on the staff of the Worldwide Fund for Nature
2. [singular] (North American English) the people who work at a school, college or university, but who do not teach students
students, faculty and staff
3. [countable + singular or plural verb] a group of senior army officers who help a commanding officer
a staff officer
4. [countable] (old-fashioned or formal) a long stick used as a support when walking or climbing, as a weapon, or as a symbol of authority
5. (especially North American English) (pl. staves) (also stave) [countable] (music) a set of five lines on which music is written
Word Origin Old English stæf (in sense (4)), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch staf and German Stab.
Grammar Point staff
In British English staff (sense 1) can be singular: a staff of ten(= a group of ten people)
or plural: I have ten staff working for me.
If it is the subject of a verb, this verb is plural:The staff in this shop are very helpful.
In North American English staff (senses 1 and 2) can only be singular:a staff of ten (but not ten staff) The staff in this store is very helpful.
The plural form staffs is less frequent but is used in both British English and North American English to refer to more than one group of people:the senator and his staff (singular) senators and their staffs (plural).
Extra examples
A spokesperson said that the bank expects to make 15 000 staff redundant over the next three years.
He joined the editorial staff in 1999.
He’s a staff writer for The New Yorker.
I’ve heard they’re recruiting staff at the moment.
She has been on the staff of the hospital for most of her working life.
She’s a staff scientist at the Research Institute.
Some companies are struggling to retain skilled staff.
Specialist training is necessary for staff carrying out this work.
The Wimbledon ground staff pulled the covers over the courts.
The bar staff can serve around a hundred drinks an hour.
The company has a staff of fifty.
The hospital is freezing staff appointments as part of its cutbacks.
The staff are working under pressure.
There are four full-time members of staff.
There are only four full-time members of staff in the company.
There is separate staff accommodation for the housekeeper.
They pay their staff by cheque.
We’ll be down to a skeleton staff over Christmas.
a staff person for a government agency
a staff position at ‘Life’ magazine
a staff report by the House Foreign Affairs Committee
staff appointed to the project
the campaign staff of President Obama
the ground staff at the airport
the medical staff who treated him during his confinement
All medical staff are tested for the virus.
He’s a lawyer on the staff of the Wordwide Fund for Nature.
I have ten staff working for me.
I tend not to eat in the staff restaurant.
Students, faculty and staff were all men in those days.
The school is closed for staff development.
The staff in this shop are very helpful.
Three staff members were suspended after the incident.
We have 20 part-time members of staff.
a staff of ten
senators and their staffs
the senator and his staff
Idioms
the staff of life - (literary) a basic food, especially bread
stuff noun BrE /stʌf/ ; NAmE /stʌf/ [uncountable]
1. (informal, sometimes disapproving) used to refer to a substance, material, group of objects, etc. when you do not know the name, when the name is not important or when it is obvious what you are talking about
What's all that sticky stuff on the carpet?
The chairs were covered in some sort of plastic stuff.
This wine is good stuff.
(disapproving) I don't know how you can eat that stuff!
They sell stationery and stuff (like that).
Where's all my stuff (= my possessions)?
(disapproving) Could you move all that stuff off the table?
see also foodstuff
2. (informal) used to refer in a general way to things that people do, say, think, etc.
I've got loads of stuff to do today.
I like reading and stuff.
The band did some great stuff on their first album.
This is all good stuff. Well done!
What's all this ‘Mrs Smith’ stuff? Call me Anna.
I don't believe in all that stuff about ghosts.
3. stuff (of something) (formal or literary) the most important feature of something; something that something else is based on or is made from
The trip was magical; the stuff of which dreams are made.
Parades and marches were the very stuff of politics in the region.
Let’s see what stuff you’re made of (= what sort of person you are).
see also hot stuff
Word Origin Middle English (denoting material for making clothes): shortening of Old French estoffe ‘material, furniture’, estoffer ‘equip, furnish’, from Greek stuphein ‘draw together’.
Extra examples
I don’t believe in all that stuff about ghosts.
I don’t know how you can eat that stuff.
I like reading and stuff.
I’ve got loads of stuff to do today.
Let’s see what stuff you’re made of.
They sell stationery and stuff (like that).
This is all good stuff. Well done!
What’s all that sticky stuff on the carpet?
What’s all this ‘Mrs Smith’ stuff? Call me Anna.
Where’s all my stuff?
Idioms
be made of sterner stuff - to have a stronger character and to be more determined in dealing with problems than other people
Many would have given up, but Tim was made of sterner stuff.
don’t sweat the small stuff - (North American English, informal) used to tell somebody not to worry about small details or unimportant things
do your stuff - (informal) to do what you are good at or what you have been trained to do
Some members of the team are just not doing their stuff (= doing as well as they should).
(figurative) The medicine has clearly done its stuff.
kids’ stuff(British English) (North American English kid stuff) - something that is so easy to do or understand that it is thought to be not very serious or only suitable for children
know your stuff - (informal) to know a lot about a particular subject or job
not give a stuff (British English, slang) - to not care at all about something
strut your stuff - (informal) to proudly show your ability, especially at dancing or performing
strutting your stuff to the latest chart hits
stuff and nonsense - (old-fashioned, informal) used to describe something that is stupid or not true
see things vs. stuff vs. property vs. possessions vs. junk vs. belongings vs. goods vs. valuables