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wastebody
  Data shows or data show? [#permalink]
New postPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 1:55 pm 
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Does GMAT treat the word 'data' as a plural for 'datum'? Doesn't it sound a bit odd?

This sentence is taken from OG12, Diagnostic Q36:

New data from United States Forest Service ecologists show ...

Google tells me that grammarians have been arguing about this point since 1920s!


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miaojunmaggie
  Re: Data shows or data show? [#permalink]
New postPosted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 6:20 pm 
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I think they treat it as pl. because apart from the sentence you found in OG, I also found a sentence containing "data are ..." from GMAT PREP, and it does not in the underlined part. So it's right in GMAT's rule as a plural form. Maybe we just have to remember it.

The original sentence is here: Those skeptical of the extent of global warming argue that short-term temperature data are an inadequate means of predicting long-term trends and point out that the scientific community remains divided on whether significant warming will occur and what impact will it have if it does.


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jeprince112
  Re: Data shows or data show? [#permalink]
New postPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 5:39 pm 
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This could be very tricky... i would also say that they treat is as plural. But "...the data show..." does sound a bit funny.


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menacel
  Re: Data shows or data show? [#permalink]
New postPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 12:50 pm 
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ever since I've grown up Data has been plural and Datum is singular.

Data show is correct because we can take a plural word to replace it.

The campers show their badges to the parents [plural]
or
The camper shows his badge to the parents [singular]


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wastebody
  Re: Data shows or data show? [#permalink]
New postPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 1:03 pm 
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Perhaps it's an Americanism.

BBC uses 'Data shows'. Washington post uses 'Data show'.


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karun0109
  Re: Data shows or data show? [#permalink]
New postPosted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 3:35 am 
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Is it at all possible that "data" be treated as a collective noun and hence receive the treatment of a singular noun while being a plural form itself??

For example: Our family likes to go on picnics..
Data shows that smoking is injurious to health..


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chaitanyabhansali
  Re: Data shows or data show? [#permalink]
New postPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:03 pm 
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data is plural so it should be - data show!


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