Government Protocols

noun A word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea. In this case, 'staff' refers to a group of employees or a pole or rod.

preposition A word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence. In this case, 'at' indicates the location or position of something.

• The flag was flown at half-staff to honor the passing of a respected leader.
• Hey, did you notice the flag is at half-staff today? Wonder what happened.
• The flag is at half-staff, something must be up.
• His spirits were at half-staff after receiving the bad news.