Data are or Data is

[Dieter]

You really want to get annoyed, start thinking about the whole "data is the plural of datum" thing, and then hear people talking about "datums".

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/datum.html

[DSchles]

You really want to get annoyed, start thinking about the whole "data is the plural of datum" thing, and then hear people talking about "datums".

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/datum.html

And then there is the reverse problem, which drives me crazy: since some form the plural of "index" by using the Latin "indices," rather than "indexes," they then do a back-formation and conclude that one of them must be an "indice"! Sad. (By the way, you have to use "indexes" when you're referring to those alphabetical lists that come at the book of a book.)

As for data's being singular or plural, there are hundreds of articles online, so have a look. Bottom line: strictly speaking, and using the Latin, data is the plural of datum. But damned if you don't sound horribly pedantic by writing, "the data are convincing." And yes, if you think of that as meaning, "the collection of facts IS convincing," you have some grounds for using the singular. I have so many such pet peeves on my list of linguistic problems that it would take me a day to list them all.

Don

[Freightman]

And then there is the reverse problem, which drives me crazy: since some form the plural of "index" by using the Latin "indices," rather than "indexes," they then do a back-formation and conclude that one of them must be an "indice"! Sad. (By the way, you have to use "indexes" when you're referring to those alphabetical lists that come at the book of a book.)

As for data's being singular or plural, there are hundreds of articles online, so have a look. Bottom line: strictly speaking, and using the Latin, data is the plural of datum. But damned if you don't sound horribly pedantic by writing, "the data are convincing." And yes, if you think of that as meaning, "the collection of facts IS convincing," you have some grounds for using the singular. I have so many such pet peeves on my list of linguistic problems that it would take me a day to list them all.

Don

Radius - radii
Penis - penii
Ball - is that balls, ballsi, or ballses