5 ms·

"The data are from Netflix." Really, Washington Post?!

• gnoway 12y ago
  Is it actually wrong? Data is plural. I kind of assumed it was one of those 'correct grammar' things like 'an historical' that looks wrong but isn't.
  • kevindication 12y ago
    Correct, data is a plural. OP either doesn't know that or is making a more nuanced complaint about stodgy old style guides that used Latin to decide things like this.
  • gergles 12y ago
    "An historical" actually is 'wrong' (for as wrong as anything can be in English, which generally isn't very). "Historical" doesn't make a vowel sound when read (which is the rule).
    • blahedo 12y ago
      It does if your dialect has a silent H there. A lot of people that pronounce "an historical" do so with a silent H.
      • deleted 12y ago
        [deleted]
      • chinpokomon 12y ago
        Maybe not silent, but definitely muted. It's a soft "H" and probably borrows its pronunciation from Spanish.
  • lawnchair_larry 12y ago
    Data was plural. It's definitely singular now. The old way is not necessarily "wrong", just awkward. Correcting people to use the old way is wrong, however. Remember, if you're pedantically holding on to archaic conventions for data, and you don't use "agenda" as plural, you're a hypocrite ;)