Korean Job Discussion Forums

[blackjack]

in the sentence "where data pertaining to a reach are not available ...

"data are" just sounds wrong it sounds like it should be "data is@, however i am pretty sure it should be data are as it occurs throughout scientific journals.

Anybody know the rule here?

[spliff]

"is" data is uncountable....okay flame away!

[khyber]

Data is plural.
Datum is singular

That sentence, weird as it sounds, seems right to me.

[Jizzo T. Clown]

FWIW, agenda and agendum are the same way...

[blackjack]

i know it is right but it just sounds so wrong

[faster]

True, in Latin data was plural and its singular was datum, but these days, datum has atrophied and become moribund.

Since it's in flux, it's generally agreed that data can be singular or plural.

[cubanlord]

Woland should be here soon. Here is my take:

Data - non-count & count depending on the context in which it is used. Therefore, it can be used as a singular and a plural noun.

The Data is not applicable.
The data gathered during the experiment provide us with a more realistic picture.
The data are scattered about.

Yes, it is true that datum would be used in the singular sense. However, that word is a bit archaic and rarely used, especially in conversation or research.

[cbclark4]

Isn't there Data, Dati and Datum?

Main Entry: da�ta
Pronunciation: \ˈdā-tə, ˈda- also ˈd�-\
Function: noun plural but singular or plural in construction
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Latin, plural of datum
Date: 1646
1 : factual information (as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation <the data is plentiful and easily available � H. A. Gleason, Jr.> <comprehensive data on economic growth have been published � N. H. Jacoby>

2 : information output by a sensing device or organ that includes both useful and irrelevant or redundant information and must be processed to be meaningful
3 : information in numerical form that can be digitally transmitted or processed
usage Data leads a life of its own quite independent of datum, of which it was originally the plural. It occurs in two constructions: as a plural noun (like earnings), taking a plural verb and plural modifiers (as these, many, a few) but not cardinal numbers, and serving as a referent for plural pronouns (as they, them); and as an abstract mass noun (like information), taking a singular verb and singular modifiers (as this, much, little), and being referred to by a singular pronoun (it). Both constructions are standard. The plural construction is more common in print, evidently because the house style of several publishers mandates it.

http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/data

cbc


cbc

[Jizzo T. Clown]