"The teaching personnel can invite the parents."

Translation: Le personnel enseignant peut inviter les parents.

[deactivated user]

I'm curious to know why "le personnel d'enseignant" is not accepted. What's the difference between this noun and one like "le couteau de cuisine"?

[junk01]

I'm also confused by this. I thought that where English uses two nouns together French requires "de" between them. I notice that Larousse offers "personnel de maison" for "servants, (domestic) staff". Perhaps "personnel enseignant" is a special case...

[Ruth326656]

In English I would expect 'the teaching personnel' to be plural* but 'les enseignants' wasn't accepted.

*The dictionary definition of 'personnel' is "people employed in an organization or engaged in an organized undertaking"

[martindawson27]

I would agree - in English "the teaching personnel" is plural. No one would use it as singular. Singular would be " the teacher" or "the professor" etc

[deactivated user]

"The teaching personnel" is actually a singular noun referring to a group of people. Similar to the word "everybody," it takes third person singular verbs.

[Ruth326656]

I don't know if this is a difference between US and UK usage but I have never heard 'personnel' used as a singular noun in this context (UK here)

[deactivated user]

Hmmm...you're right. It seems the plural use, while objected by some, "is well established and standard in all varieties of speech and writing" (dictionary.com). I'm not sure what I was thinking. I guess, to me, it seems similar to group nouns like "everybody" and "staff."

[Bob864206]

The staff are very upset by your reply!

[Bob864206]

Oddly enough, British and American usages differ on this point, whether a collective noun takes a singular or plural verb. In Eng, the crowd are on their feet. Are there other non-B, non-Am usages elsewhere? Or is it just choose verb number, sing or plur?

[Tom817127]

It's similar to how something like 'the crowd' would be singular. Talking about multiple people, but it's singular

[wseattlelisa]

As an American english speaker, I would simply say 'The teachers', but 'Les enseignants pouvons inviter les parents.' was not accepted.

[kblanken73]

I agree with you. Are we supposed to be translating literally word for word, or are we supposed to be translating meaning?

[Ruth326656]

I think (and this may only be UK usage here) that 'teaching personnel' is intended to include more than just teachers - classroom assistants and similar - which is why 'teachers'/'enseignants' alone is not accepted.

[Chilling_Girl]

Can anyone tell me why all of them arent right? Thank you

[awefulwaffle]

These are the "incorrect" answers in the multiple choice exercise I was offered:

• Le personnel enseignant peut inviter les petits-fils. = The teaching personnel can invite the grandsons.
• Le personnel enseignant faut convier les parents. = The teaching personnel must invite the parents.

[Bob864206]

And if the teaching personnel are plural? My intuition as a native english speaker is that this refers to the mass of them, not each or every one of them = "All teaching personel can invite...."

[Grandien]

What kind of sentence is that?