Singular or plural?

A Clothes, etc

Some nouns have only a plural form (with s) and take a plural verb.

The clothes were in the dryer, NOT The clothe was ...

The goods have been sent to you direct from our factory, NOT The good has ..

My belongings are all packed up in suitcases.

PLURAL NOUNS

arms (weapons), belongings (the things you own), clothes, congratulations, contents (what is inside something), customs (bringing things into a country), earnings (money you earn), goods (products, things for sale), outskirts (the outer part of a town), remains (what is left), surroundings (the environment, the things around you), thanks, troops (soldiers)

Some nouns have both a singular and a plural form with a difference in meaning.

SINGULAR

Our special price is £10 cheaper than normal. So don't miss this saving of £10.

The storm did a lot of damage to buildings.

I've got a pain in my back. It really hurts.

PLURAL

My savings are in the bank. I'm going to take out all the money and buy a new car.

The newspaper had to pay £2 million in damages after printing untrue stories about a politician.

I checked the figures carefully three times. I took great pains to get them exactly right.

B News, etc

Some nouns have a plural form (with s) but take a singular verb.

The news was worse than I had expected, NOT The news were ...

Economics is a difficult subject, NOT Economics are ...

NOUNS TAKING A SINGULAR VERB

The word news

The subjects economics, mathematics/maths, physics, politics and statistics

The activities athletics and gymnastics

The games billiards and darts

The illness measles

C Means, etc

Some nouns ending in s have the same singular and plural form.

This means of transport saves energy. Both means of transport save energy.

This species of insect is quite rare. All these species of insect are quite rare.

NOUNS WITH ONE FORM

crossroads

means

series (e.g. a series of TV documentaries)

species (kind, type)

Works (a factory) and headquarters (a main office) take either a singular or a plural verb.

The steel works has/have closed down.