# Grammar question regarding usage of "staff" and "team"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-regarding-usage-of-staff-and-team/242445>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 28, 2004, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-regarding-usage-of-staff-and-team/242445 "2004-04-28T05:35:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-regarding-usage-of-staff-and-team/242445/1 "2004-04-28T05:35:34Z")

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Is this correct?:

“While the American sprinting team **are** of world-class caliber, **they** must compete with talent from increasingly competitive countries…”

If the word is “team,” should I use “are”? What about “they” or “it”?

Duh!!

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**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-regarding-usage-of-staff-and-team/242445/2 "2004-04-28T05:44:25Z")

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It’s correct in British English. In American English, teams are singular, and carry singular number unless one is referring to individual members, or using a plural proper name:

“The Baltimore Ravens are said to be a football team. The team is composed of players. The team was formerly the Cleveland Browns.”