Guestmudgeon Ian Williams
shows that the data are in
My own personal gripe relates to the word
data. Am I part of a dying breed in insisting that this is a plural noun and should always take
a plural verb, such as "the data are correct"? I see so often "the data is
...." that I wonder whether it is now sufficiently accepted to be definitive, particularly in the scientific community. If so, will anyone
mourn with me? Oh, and the same stomach churning grief arises from the misuse of the words
criterion (singular), and criteria (plural). Is there a criteria by which we can judge these things, or do no absolute
criterions remain? I suppose we can only review the data and see what conclusions it supports.
Yes, we curmudgeons agree with
you. Unfortunately, using data as a collective, singular noun
is so widespread that we're not sure the tide can be turned. Even the Encarta
Dictionary, with its copious usage notes, suggests this, but it also
says that data, in formal English, should be treated as a
plural. Encarta is also on your (and our!) side with regard to criteria
(plural) and criterion (singular). However, they do list criterions
as another plural form. Ouch!
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