Is it common and acceptable to count personnel?
For e.g.
- Five personnel will be chosen to join the contest.
- Five Microloft personnel will be given a bonus.
- I spoke to 3 Microloft personnel regarding the issue.
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Some relevant q&a: ell.stackexchange.com/questions/62507/… ell.stackexchange.com/questions/5922/… ell.stackexchange.com/questions/3497/…– James KCommented Oct 30, 2022 at 7:20
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1 Answer
Even though the noun "personnel" is used this way, it is a non-countable noun, which means that it cannot be used in a sentence as a plural noun. This is because the noun "personnel" is referring to all the workers as a group, and you cannot have a plural "all".
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you cannot have a plural "all" <-- Where do you get this rule from? Commented Nov 1, 2022 at 22:45
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I was referring to the fixed plural noun rule, my apologies. @MarcInManhattan– Jackie LCommented Nov 2, 2022 at 21:10
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No need to apologize! I was just wondering because "all" can be used in the plural. (E.g.: "I have five dogs. All are German shepherds.") What is the "fixed plural noun rule"? Is it from a grammar book? Commented Nov 3, 2022 at 0:38