Is data plural or singular?

As shown in the Publication Manual (p. 96), the word datum is singular, and the word data is plural. Plural nouns take plural verbs, so data should be followed by a plural verb.

Can we say these information?

In English, “information” is an uncountable noun. Even though “information” refers to a collection of facts, it is treated as singular. “These” is used with plural nouns, so “these information” is incorrect. Use “this information” instead.

Do you say the data?

Use ‘data’ as a plural: The data are for 2012 to 2013. But in general use, data is three times more likely to be followed by a singular verb than by a plural. In non-specialized texts, “the data was” would be more usual, but in more technical contexts, we are just as likely to say “the data were”.

When we have to use this and these?

This and these are used to point to something near you. For a singular thing, use this. For a plural thing, use these.

Is the data or are the data?

The word data is a plural noun so write “data are”. Datum is the singular. It’s like agenda, a Latin plural that is now almost universally used as a singular. Technically the singular is datum/agendum, but we feel it sounds increasingly hyper-correct, old-fashioned and pompous to say “the data are”.

Is information always singular?

In English the word “information” is an uncountable noun. Instead, if you need to use the word in the singular, you can say “a piece / an item of information”. But usually we simply use “information” for both singular and plural. This mistake arises because in some languages the word has both singular and plural forms.

What is the proper way to say data?

day-tuh
According to the online Cambridge dictionary and Merriam-Webster dictionary, the correct way to say data is “day-tuh.” Even the character, Data, from Star Trek: The Next Generation agrees.

Is it correct to say “these data are” or “this data are?

In that sense of the word, then “these data are” would be the correct usage. However, the Oxford English Dictionary states [emphasis mine]: In Latin, data is the plural of datum and, historically and in specialized scientific fields, it is also treated as a plural in English, taking a plural verb, as in the data were collected and classified.

Should data be followed by the plural of data?

Plural nouns take plural verbs, so data should be followed by a plural verb. To help clear up any confusion regarding the proper use of these terms, I list examples of datum and data being used correctly below:

Is the word “data” being treated differently in different ways?

If you happen to read a lot of data-related material, you might occasionally find the word “data” being treated in different ways. In some cases you’ll see “this data is…” and in other cases “these data are…”. You might even think “they obviously made a mistake with their grammar”.

Why is the singular of data wrong?

The reason some people believe the singular data to be incorrect is that data is a plural word in Latin, its singular being datum, meaning a thing given.