Know your English

WHAT IS the plural of "staff "?

(S. Srinivasan, Madurai)

If you are thinking of people working in an organisation, then the plural is "staff ".The word is an uncountable noun. In most universities, for example, we have teaching staff and administrative staff. Like the nouns "jury", "government", etc. the word "staff" can be followed by either a singular or a plural verb. Here are a few examples.

*The staff is of the opinion that we should go on strike.

*The staff were excellent.

*The staff at St. Mary's Hospital have rejected the new pay scale.

The word is normally not used to refer to a single individual. If you wish to refer to a single person, then you could say "staff member", "staff person", etc. Some people use the word "staffer", not everyone, however, accepts this word.

What is the difference between `fairly' and `rather'? (B. Lakshmi Chandrasekhar, Vijayawada)

"Rather" is the stronger of the two words. When you say that the movie was "rather good ", it implies that it was pretty good; it was much better than you had expected. So in your opinion, people should go and see it; you recommend it. On the other hand, when you say that it was "fairly good", what you are implying is that it was OK. There was nothing great about the film, if the friend wants to, he/she may go and see it, but you wouldn't recommend it. Similarly, when you tell someone that his English is "fairly good", you are not really complimenting him. All that you are saying is that his English is OK. Here are a few more examples.

*Jyothi made a fairly/rather good presentation.

*During summer, it gets fairly/rather warm.

*Sreetilak's wife is fairly/rather good looking.

What is the origin of the expression "French leave"? (M. Ram Mohan, Narsampet)

This is another example of how much the English hated the French. I guess we shouldn't be talking about this now, considering the fact the two have joined forces along with the United States to fight the Taliban. But historically the two nations couldn't stand each other. Even now it is not uncommon for an Englishman to refer to a Frenchman as a "frog", because the French consider frogs legs a delicacy. The term "French postcards" is used to refer to picture postcards with naked ladies on them. When someone uses foul language, you can hear the person saying, "pardon my French" — thereby implying that the French had the habit of swearing.

When someone goes on "French leave", he or she takes off without informing the authorities. According to the English, it was standard practice in France in the 18th Century to leave a ball or dinner without thanking the host and hostess. People left without even saying good-bye. The English felt that the French were people without manners. But what is interesting is that, taking leave of someone in this manner is referred to as "English leave" by the French! What the Americans call "French postcards", the French call "American postcards". It is interesting to note that countries, which have such a low opinion of one another, have come together to fight terrorism! I guess they don't mind the war of words.

What is the difference between "She went out slamming the door" and "She went out and slammed the door"? (Gowri Shankar, Anantapur)

The first sentence suggests that the person slammed the door as she was going out. The two actions, the person walking out and the slamming of the door, took place simultaneously. The action was continuous; there was no break. Here is another example. She picked up the telephone crying. This sentence suggests that the individual while crying picked up the phone. The second sentence "went out and slammed the door" suggests there was a pause between the two actions — however minute the pause may have been. The individual went out, stopped and then slammed the door. The action wasn't continuous; the incident is seen as two separate actions. Here's another example. The man yawned and picked up the telephone. This sentence suggests that the man yawned first and then after he had finished yawning, he picked up the telephone. Whereas a sentence like "Yawning, the man picked up the telephone" seems to suggest the man picked up the phone while he was yawning.

What is the meaning of "infructuous"? (Jayashree Mishra, Bhubaneshwar)

As soon as I typed out your question, the spell checker on my computer highlighted the word "infructuous", telling me that such a word does not exist! At least it hasn't been included in the computer's dictionary. "Infructuous" is a word that is not used very often by native speakers of English, it is however quite popular among newspaper reporters in India. First, let me deal with the pronunciation of the word. The "u" in the second syllable sounds like the "u" in "but", "cut", and "hut". The following "tu" is like the "tue" in "Tuesday". The final "ous" is like the "ous" in "humourous", "fabulous", and "dangerous". The main stress is on the second syllable. As for the meaning, well the word means "unprofitable, unfruitful, ineffective". Here are a few examples.

*After several infructuous interviews to find a job, Ashwini turned to crime.

*Gauri made an infructuous appeal to the Chairman to retain the services of Arun.

*Sashidhar made several infructuous attempts to steal the Nizam's diamonds.

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"The last time I was in Spain, I got through six Jeffrey Archer novels. I must remember to take enough toilet paper next time." — Bob Monkhouse.

S. UPENDRAN

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