NRTC English: Is it correct to say criterias?

Criteria is a plural noun that refers to standards or benchmarks on which a judgement is made. Its singular is criterion.

E.g i. An important criterion for admission to a university in Nigeria is sitting for a UTME. ii. Athletes are judged on a number of criteria. iii. You must meet these criteria (not, criterias) before you can get this job.

Since English borrows a number of words from Latin and Greek, the tradition is to retain the plural forms of these words in their original languages.

So the plural of radius is radii; appendix is appendices; genus is genera; datum is data, agendum is agenda; medium as media; bacterium becomes bacteria.

Adding ‘-s’ to the plural forms then becomes an erroneous usage. Therefore, medias, criterias, datas, agendas are not standard English forms.

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However, the plural forms of those words in their original languages can be eschewed for standard English -s plural. Therefore, medium becomes mediums; criterion becomes criterions; bacterium as bacteriums. But this is rarely used.

In modern English, criteria, data, agenda, and media, are increasingly being used as singular nouns and can attract singular verbs.

E.g i. The polling data was released this morning. ii. What’s the agenda for the meeting? The criteria varies among hospitals and medical facilities. iv. The media has become a powerful tool for social movement.

This is about preference and especially when the items and pieces are taken collectively as a whole unit.