3 ms·
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.
by gnoway 13y 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 13y agoCorrect, 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 13y 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 13y agoIt does if your dialect has a silent H there. A lot of people that pronounce "an historical" do so with a silent H.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- chinpokomon 13y agoMaybe not silent, but definitely muted. It's a soft "H" and probably borrows its pronunciation from Spanish.
- lawnchair_larry 13y agoData 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 ;)