| 单词 | data |
| 例句 | data plural noun (often as singular) •a lack of data on the drug's side effects:facts, figures, statistics, details, particulars, specifics | information, intelligence, material, input | informal info.USAGE data Whether you write “data are” or “data is,” you're likely to make some readers raise their eyebrows. Technically a plural, data has, since the 1940s, been increasingly treated as a mass noun taking a singular verb. But in more or less formal contexts it is preferably treated as a plural—e.g.: “The data are derived from tests performed on expectant mothers.” ( Economist; Mar. 24, 2001.) Many writers use it as a singular, however, risking their credibility with some readers (admittedly a shrinking minority)—e.g.: “No data is offered to suggest that women are being adversely hit by the dearth of articles.” ( Globe and Mail [Canada]; Aug. 24, 1993.) In the context of computing and related disciplines, the singular use of data is common and comfortable—e.g.: “Every time you synchronize your PDA, the data gets backed up to your PC.” (PCWorld.com; Feb. 8, 2001.) In one particular use, data is rarely treated as a singular: when it begins a clause and is not preceded by the definite article—e.g.: “Data over the last two years suggest that the rate at which gay men get AIDS has finally begun to flatten out.” ( New York Times; Feb. 5, 1989.) Datum, the “true” singular, is sometimes used when a single piece of information is referred to—e.g.: “We accept the law as a necessary datum, but that is not to say that we are required to accept it in abeyance of our critical faculties.” (F. R. Leavis, The Common Pursuit; 1952.) Still, in nonscientific contexts, datum is likely to sound pretentious. Because data can be either a plural count noun or a singular mass noun, both many data and much data are correct—e.g.: • “Numerous expert and representative interests are consulted, and many data assembled, often over a long period.” (Carleton K. Allen, Law in the Making, 7th ed.; 1964.) • “But much of the data in present personnel files is highly subjective.” (William O. Douglas, Points of Rebellion; 1970.) As Albert C. Baugh, a historian of the English language, put it in 1962, “A student with one year of Latin [knows] that data and phenomena are plural.” Whatever you do, if you use data in a context in which its number becomes known, you'll bother some of your readers. Perhaps 50 years from now—maybe sooner, maybe later—everybody will accept it as a collective. But not yet.Usage notes show additional guidance on finer points of English usage. |
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