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Subject:Data nd Other Plurals (Both Foreign & Domestic From:Harold Snyder <ENSNYDER -at- ECUVM1 -dot- BITNET> Date:Fri, 24 Mar 1995 10:50:44 EST
RoMay,
This DATA thread is delightful. If we work at it long enough, do think
that we can move DATA into the same category as _jury_ in that some nouns
that are plural in meaning are used in the singular form.
The jury were split. or The data are accurate.
BUT,
The jury was unamious. or The data is confusing.
In the first example, members of the jury couldn't agree (and each individual
item of datum was correct, so all the data was--or should it be WERE--
accurate.
In the second example, individual members of the jury agreed and acted
the same way collectively (just as individual elements of datum can often
be confusing>.
On the other hand, I can't find any expert (in either academia or the
workplace> who is ready to incorporate data into the list of collective
nouns, so we'll have to wait a few millenia (maybe years is more accurate).