The Man Who Stole Greece: Cuffed chap had data on most of country Greek police have cuffed a suspect who allegedly stole personal data of three-quarters of the country's population as part of an attempted industrial-scale ID theft scam. The unnamed 35-year-old computer programmer is suspected of attempting to flog nine million records containing ID card data, addresses, tax identification …
Several datum can, together, be considered a set of data. In general usage, the inference would normally be that it is the set (singular) of many datum that are being referenced. "I need that (set of) data as soon as possible!"
Datum as a singular tends not to get used in popular speech, the same way trouser or scissor also tend not to get used. The usual reference is (set of) data, or (pair of) trousers, or (pair of) scissors.
Also your posited question already has a singular reference, inviting the singular response; "that money" instead of "those moneys/monies".
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/money shows money to be considered a singular rather than plural noun. Since I can certainly recall personal instances of hearing people use monies/moneys in speech, I see no reason to doubt the entry's veracity.
An interesting aside would be how you would instinctively try to describe the need for several unconnected data sets... could you see yourself ever asking someone for "those data"?
So this statement is correct use of English:
"We are investigating what the source of the data was and how THEY were used by the man arrested, and also the possibility of him providing THEM to someone else" ?
While the following sentence is pure nonsense:
"We are investigating what the source of the data was and how IT was used by the man arrested, and also the possibility of him providing IT to someone else" ?
Get real.
As far as the use of 'that' inviting singular response, maybe i should have used 'the' to avoid confusion.
I think my original point was clear.
"Monies"? Cash Prize? Dubious Nigerian scams? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8LYbEIA0dA
As the AC at 16:06, I confess that I have no particular objection to the word 'data' being treated as singular (even though I know it's wrong).
My point was that OP was criticising the (translation of) the Greek plod's statement for, well, being correct.
I think in future I'll tell people, despite their almost certain lack of interest, that the plural of data is datae.
Websters Dictionary says "now usually with singular verb", and the Oxford English Dictionary recognises singular usage, all be it with the disdain of a pedantic old-fashioned classicist.
So it appears that on balance it is more correct to treat 'data' as singular. If you really want to use a plural verb, why not say "datums"? Then it's unambiguously correct.
Wouldn't be the first time someone started with a little and industriously expanded it until it had more bits of data on more people than the government has, however fragmentedly, and in one place.
It's not difficult, it's just a lot of work. Oh and it's generally not allowed, but who cares about that anyway? The collected 1200-odd TLAgencies in the USoA certainly don't. As long as it's "anti-terrist" it's all good. As soon as you try to sell it... you'd better be trying to sell it to the taxman or you're going to get to stay in the big house.
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