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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.(This is according to Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th
edition, as found in SoftKey's "Infopedia 2.0" (a wonderful source for
finding stuff...and I'm not just saying that 'cause I was an editor on the
project!))
So which is it...singular or plural? I guess singular (like information),
unless you have a house style that mandates it be plural! (In other words,
either is correct!) ;-)
Ronni
Ms. Ronni Geist
Editorial Director
GeistWriters
ronni -at- geistwriters -dot- com
