staff from? staff of?

[hellokitty]

Hi teachers,

Here is a question from an exam preparation textbook:
Staff _____ an environmental group will be here to check for evidence of pollution.

I thought the answer was "of". I also searched "staff of" on an English language corpus web site and found a lot of examples. However, the book says the right preposition is "from".
Is "of " a totally wrong answer?


Kitty

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

Hi teachers,

Here is a question from an exam preparation textbook:
Staff _____ an environmental group will be here to check for evidence of pollution.

I thought the answer was "of". I also searched "staff of" on an English language corpus web site and found a lot of examples. However, the book says the right preposition is "from".
Is "of " a totally wrong answer?

No, it's not. In fact, "of" makes more sense to me there than "from" does.

[Tdol]

'Of' makes sense to me too, but 'from' makes more sense to me as they are coming from the group to visit- maybe it's a regional difference.

[RonBee]

I have reconsidered my previous answer, and now I like "from" better, but I still don't think "of" is wrong.

[Tdol]

'Of' is definitely fine.

[hellokitty]

Thank you Ronbee and Tdol!
I'm happy to know my choice isn't totally wrong. Also, you made me understood why "from" is the best answer.

Thanks a lot,
Kitty