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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
data/datum
Is Data singular or plural?
Is Datum singular or plural?
Is Datum singular or plural?
Top answer
"datum" -- singular. "data" -- technically plural (and plural by derivation), but commonly treated as singular. The singular usage is accepted as standard English by many (I'd guess most) people, but there are probably still some who view it as an error.
- "datum" -- singular.
- "data" -- technically plural (and plural by derivation), but commonly treated as singular.
- The singular usage is accepted as standard English by many (I'd guess most) people, but there are probably still some who view it as an error.
- Conversely, the plural usage is now starting to look fussy and pedantic to some people -- so you can't win!
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3 Answers
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"datum" -- singular.
"data" -- technically plural (and plural by derivation), but commonly treated as singular. The singular usage is accepted as standard English by many (I'd guess most) people, but there are probably still some who view it as an error. Conversely, the plural usage is now starting to look fussy and pedantic to some people -- so you can't win!
"data" -- technically plural (and plural by derivation), but commonly treated as singular. The singular usage is accepted as standard English by many (I'd guess most) people, but there are probably still some who view it as an error. Conversely, the plural usage is now starting to look fussy and pedantic to some people -- so you can't win!
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I have no idea, but I can't imagine any sensible person setting a test question that depended on this (for example, insisting that only the plural interpretation was correct). Do you know otherwise?
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