One that has occupied the minds of biologists, sociologists, psychologists, and statisticians for decades. Browse the many articles in our archive or come back soon to find out which new topics we’ve covered.Patterns exist, but it is difficult to know which elements of those patterns are relevant.Īt the heart of many scientific efforts to help security professionals is a mathematical challenge. We enjoy helping you become a more precise and eloquent communicator, which is why we approach each post and article as an opportunity to have fun while learning. Learning and understanding the rules of grammar in American English can seem rote and tedious unless they are shared and discussed in easy, clear, and colorful ways. Content That Gets You in a Good Mood About Grammar Many people would probably rather say, “This data reinforces…” Our goal with communication is to be understood while establishing comfort and clarity, so there will be times when it’s best to follow the crowd as well as our instincts. Some Americans still may wince at the sound if so, we understand. For example, in some rare cases, someone might hand you multiple reports and say, “These data reinforce what we’ve been saying about the village water.” The influencing factor here is the plural demonstrative adjective these. The best answer, in our view, is to make data as singular in most references unless another element qualifies it as plural. So what should you do with that information? We’ve established that data used to be plural but is now treated more often as singular. But a great many more have not.” How to Use Data From Now On Bernstein, in The Careful Writer, says, “Some respected and learned writers have used data as a singular. Many people see data as a synonym for “information,” and to them, These data are very interesting sounds downright bizarre. Bremner, in Words on Words, states unequivocally, “The word is plural.” This one is thorny, because the singular, datum, is virtually nonexistent in English. This is an instance of how prevalent, popular usage can change language over time. ![]() If we approach data from a strictly grammatical perspective that considers word origin, our singular use of the word would be technically inaccurate. To the native ear in American English, these constructions might be awkward using data as a singular noun with a singular verb simply sounds better (and more common). We won’t know what the data are going to reveal until the study ends. New data are telling me to look for an alternate theory.ĭata from the space station indicate the existence of a black hole. Now let’s consider the same sentences using data as a plural noun: We won’t know what the data is going to reveal until the study ends.Īs you can see, each of these sentences uses data as a singular noun with a singular verb. New data is telling me to look for an alternate theory.ĭata from the space station indicates the existence of a black hole. ![]() Let’s look at some more examples and consider whether they sound right: ![]() Many of us have grown accustomed to treating data as a singular noun: The data suggests fiscal growth over last quarter. This is especially true in the information age. However, although data has established roots and usage in Latin, it has developed different (and more prevalent) characteristics in modern American English. One might think that this should clear any confusion. The issue begins with the Latin word datum, a singular noun meaning “a single piece of information, as a fact, statistic, or code.” In the plural form, datum becomes data. Let’s review this word more closely to reach a conclusion we can work with. How to treat data can influence our writing and sentence structure in different ways. Many of us may have at some point wondered whether we should use data as a singular or plural word.
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