Nouns used only in the singular
Some nouns are used only in the singular, even though they end in-s. These include: the names of academic subjects such asclassics, economics, mathematics/maths, physics; the physical activitiesgymnasticsandaerobics; the diseasesmeaslesandmumps;and the wordnews:
Mathswas never my best subject at school.
Aerobicsis great fun – you should try it!
Nouns used only in the plural
Some nouns only have a plural form. They cannot be used with numbers. They include the names of certain tools, instruments and articles of clothing which have two parts.
Tools and instruments
binoculars | headphones | sunglasses |
glasses | scissors | tweezers |
Clothing
jeans | pyjamas | tights |
knickers | shorts | trousers |
pants |
I’ve got newsunglasses. Do you like them?
He always wearsshorts, even in the winter.
A pair of
We can usepair ofto refer to one example of these nouns:
I boughtanewpair ofbinocularslast week.
That old pair of trouserswill be useful for doing jobs in the garden.
We usepairs ofto refer to more than one example of this type of noun:
They’re advertisingtwo pairs of glassesfor the price of one.
I boughtthree pairs of shortsfor the summer.
Other nouns which are always plural in form
belongings | outskirts |
clothes | premises(buildings) |
congratulations | savings(money) |
earnings | stairs |
goods | surroundings |
likes/dislikes | thanks |
Please ensure that you take all yourbelongingswith you as you leave the aircraft.
They live on theoutskirtsof Frankfurt, almost in the countryside.
Myclothesare wet. I’ll have to go upstairs and change.
She spent all hersavingson a trip to South America.
Collective nouns (group words)
Some nouns refer to groups of people (e.g.audience, committee, government, team). These are sometimes called collective nouns. Some collective nouns can take a singular or plural verb, depending on whether they are considered as a single unit or as a collection of individuals:
audience | crew | public |
committee | enemy | team |
company | government | Manchester United |
seen as a single unit | seen as individuals |
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In general, a plural verb is more common with these nouns in informal situations.
See also:
Piece words and group words