[HN Gopher] Mass noun
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       Mass noun
        
       Author : dcminter
       Score  : 19 points
       Date   : 2023-04-21 10:45 UTC (12 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (en.wikipedia.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (en.wikipedia.org)
        
       | k__ wrote:
       | In Germany, beer is a mass noun.
        
       | somewhereoutth wrote:
       | Yes! Like 'data' - it's singular ffs, so say 'the data in this
       | paper shows' not 'the data show'. Looking at _you_ TWiV!!
       | 
       |  _Maybe_ if it still makes sense semantically to replace  'data'
       | with 'data points', then the plural is ok. However mostly we are
       | talking about a 'wodge' of data, with discussion, caveats, etc,
       | more than a simple list of 'datums'.
        
         | mhb wrote:
         | What gives you the idea that data is singular? And then what is
         | datum?
        
           | subarctic wrote:
           | Ya, what is a datum? Is that like a piece of data?
           | 
           | I've heard that data is actually supposed to be plural, but
           | that "correct" usage is so far outside of my experience that
           | it just seems weird and confusing.
           | 
           | The one I actually find annoying though is when people use
           | "an" before a word that starts with a (pronounced) h, like
           | "an historic building". It's like, dude, I know you're trying
           | to seem all smart and superior and it isn't working. (Of
           | course, if they said it with a french accent and a silent h
           | that would make more sense.)
        
         | hackyhacky wrote:
         | Just because it _can_ be singular doesn 't mean that it _must_
         | be singular.
        
         | gnicholas wrote:
         | I'm pretty prescriptivist when it comes to grammar, but I also
         | think that "data" should be referred to in the way you
         | describe, and for those reasons. When people say "data" they
         | generally mean "dataset", which is unambiguously singular. It
         | just doesn't make sense to say "dataset" when "data" will do.
        
       | archgoon wrote:
       | [dead]
        
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       (page generated 2023-04-21 23:00 UTC)