Welcome to your Singular and Plural Nouns lesson! In this topic we talk about:
• Plural Nouns for Pairs
• Singular Nouns that Look Plural
• Singular Nouns with Plural Verbs
• Public places
Take the quizzes when you’re ready! If you’re having problems, use the comment box to contact our English Teachers.
Plural Nouns for Pairs
Sometimes in English, we use a plural noun for one thing that has two parts:
| binoculars | glasses | jeans | pyjamas |
| scissors | pants | tights | trousers |
“My jeans are too tight!”
(not “My jeansis…”)“My pants have hearts on them.”
(not “My pantshas…”)
You can also use “a pair of + plural noun”:
“I have a new pair of glasses.” ↔ “I have new glasses.”
“Pass me a pair of scissors, please.” ↔ “Pass me the scissors, please.”
Singular Nouns that Look Plural
Some nouns look like plural nouns, but they are actually singular. Especially those ending in -ics:
| athletics | economics | electronics |
| gymnastics | maths (mathematics) | physics |
Note that News is singular, not plural.
“Quiet! The news is on.”
(not “The newsareon.”)
Some nouns ending in s can be singular or plural:
| means: | a means of transport | several means of transport |
| series: | a television series | three television series |
| species: | a species of fish | many species of fish |
We often think of a sum of money, a period of time, a distance etc. as on thing. So we use a singular verb:
“Fifty-thousand Euros was stolen last night.”
(not “Fifty-thousand Euroswerestolen last night.”)“Twenty kilometers is a long distance to run!”
(not “Twenty kilometersarea long distance to run!”)
Singular Nouns with Plural Verbs
Some singular nouns are often used with a plural verb:
| audience | committee | company | family |
| firm | government | staff | team |
These nouns are all groups of people. We can either consider them as many people (they), or as a singular group of people (it). So they can be used with either plural verbs or singular verbs:
“The company want to open a new factory.”
or
“The company wants to open a new factory.”“The staff have the day off tomorrow.”
or
“The staff has the day off tomorrow.”
In the same way, we can use plural verbs or singular verbs with names of sports teams or companies:
“PSG are playing Liverpool tonight.”
or
“PSG is playing Liverpool tonight.”“BP have a new oil rig.”
or
“BP has a new oil rig.”
Note that we only use plural verbs with police:
“The police arrest three-hundred people per day.”
(not “The policearreststhree-hundred people per day.”)
