Re: Don't say what you CANNOT do in documents

["Bonnie Granat" <bgranat -at- granatedit -dot- com>]

Downing, David wrote:
> Kind of like "data" and "datum."
>

Merriam-Webster's 11th has this to say about that question:

"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."


Bonnie Granat
www.granatedit.com






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