Was is used in the first person singular I and the third person singular he she it. The word data comes to English from Latin in which datum is the singular and data is the plural.
Data Is Or Data Are Grammar Girl
There was a dog in the road.
Data was or were grammar. Is data singular or plural. As shown in the Publication Manual p. Unfortunately the answer is that both usages are standard 1.
Sentences such as data was as well as data were collected over a number of years are now widely accepted in standard English. Sometimes we write data were in scientific language but even here was is more common in my opinion. The word data is best described as in transition from a plural word to a singular one.
As simple as that in past tense was is used for singular nounpronoun and were for plural. In modern non-scientific use it. The word data is a plural noun so write data are.
The oxford dictionary suggests either use for historical or recent correctness. I would also say that it breaks the rules of AE because of was although it is possible that some people in the US regard data as singular. The first sentence is present tense and the second one is past tense.
The data were analysed after they were collected. Plural nouns take plural verbs so data should be followed by a plural verb. For example I was going to the market and we were going to the market.
Were is used in the second person singular and plural you your yours and. Data were collected and classified. This is one of the most common mistakes among English learners.
However before we can address this fully we need to review a couple of linguistic concepts. Rather than The data was analysed after it was collected. Keep in mind though that some people consider the singular data incorrect.
The word data is the plural of datum which is Latin for something given. In Latin data is the plural of datum. Datum is the singular.
To help clear up any confusion regarding the proper use of these terms I list examples of. The rule of thumb is that if we talk about something that is likely to happen we use was. Both usages exist today but often the distinction will be made based on whether you are treating data as a count or noncount noun also known as a mass noun.
Keep this rule in mind when trying to decide whether to use was were or some other form of the verb to be. In that sense of the word then these data are would be the correct usage. Now that the subjunctive mood is no longer a hurdle for you nothing is stopping you from getting your word out.
Instead it is treated as a mass noun similar to a word like information which cannot normally have a plural and which takes a singular verb. However it is still acceptable to treat data as plural. When we talk about something that is unlikely to happen use were.
Historically and in specialized scientific fields it is treated as a plural in English eg. Andrew Garratt of the Royal Statistical Society says the debate goes back to the 1920s - and reared its head recently. The question seems easy enough.
Many writers knowing its Latin origins insist that data must take a plural verb. Historically data is the plural of datum and was expressed as data were collected. In everyday English data is commonly followed by a singular verb.
Elsewhere most English speakers treat it as a singular mass noun. In modern non-scientific use it is often not treated as a plural. If you need a plural form use data sets.
The sentence you gave breaks the rules of BE because of analyzed. So if you naturally treat data as singular then stick with that. Data is often treated as a plural noun in writing related to science mathematics finance and computing.
The subject is dog a singular noun. In that sense of the word then these data are would be the correct usage. Forms of Was and Were As I said above was and were are in the past tense but they are used differently.
Both are grammatically correct. However due to hyper-correctness this has evolved over time to data being considered and expressed as a singular ie. Theres nothing wrong with saying Informationen in German or informations in French both being the plural form of information.
If youre sticking with that history it should be Your data are now safe Data. BE data was analysed. Once the subject has been identified use was if the subject is singular and were if the subject is plural.
This convention is well established and widely followed in both edited and unedited writing. 96 the word datum is singular and the word data is plural.