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Pastimes : SI Grammar and Spelling Lab -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jbe who wrote (1288)	5/15/1998 10:51:00 PM
From: FISHERMAN	Respond to of 4711

Beg to differ. It is the plural of datum (neuter gender). If it were datus (masculine gender), the plural would be dati. Thank you for the correction. I last studied Latin in 1951...seems I've gotten a bit rusty. tw

To: jbe who wrote (1288)	5/16/1998 12:05:00 AM
From: Wizzer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4711

Would a reference to data be considered singular and plural in English or would one have to clarify? At least in Engineering, I refer to data as both. Data can be a singular number or a collection of numbers. In both cases I would most likely refer to it in the singular sense. As for the discussion of referring to NASD in the singular sense, I would think that is correct or at least acceptable, although I am still not quite sure of the context of the statement. Any time I refer to an "entity" like the government or an organization without specifying anyone in particular, I would use a singular reference. For example, "The government indicated that it would supply funding.....", is my preferred way. "The government indicated that *they* would supply funding.....", is not too hard on the ears for me. However, "The city council indicated that *they* would supply funding...." is preferred by me in this case. Perhaps, the reference to government or NASD is more "obscure" to me, whereas the city council is more easily identifiable of as a group of people and not in the sense of an "entity". Do you "catch my drift"? Question: Does anyone else hear people referring to "shrimps" as a plural for "shrimp"? Shrimps and shrimp are both listed as a plural for shrimp in the dictionary. It sounds funny to me when someone uses "shrimps". In the same manner, "fishes" as a plural for "fish", and "crabs" [as a food-I felt compelled to clarify] as a plural for "crab" sounds odd to me. The addition of the 's' is very hard on my ears. I would strictly use fish, shrimp, and crab as both singular and plural references. If I were to invite anyone of you over for shrimp, I will be cooking you more than one. Comments anyone?