[Ads-l] "information" as a plural

Mark Mandel markamandel at GMAIL.COM
Fri Sep 24 21:07:49 UTC 2021


>
>
I'm familiar with "the data is", which certainly isn't plural, but I'm
pretty sure I haven't encountered a plural "datas". So I think the singular
"data" is really a mass noun, like "information" (in traditional usage),
"evidence", "music", "money", "progress", and many others.

Mark Mandel


On Thu, Sep 23, 2021 at 1:13 PM Stanton McCandlish <smccandlish at gmail.com>
>
wrote:
>
> > Yes, I can see how the error happened, but it's still an error.
> Unless we're seeing an actual shift.  It wouldn't be the first time there's
> been one in this sort of term.  E.g. "data", a plural, has become
> frequently used in the singular, while "datum" recedes into obscurity.
> >
>

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