Intermediate 📐 Grammar · #144 of 305

Countable Nouns with Singular Verbs: News, Maths

Some -s nouns are singular.

Examples

  • The news is good.

Key rules

  • Some nouns end in s but are singular: news, maths, physics, politics, economics
  • They take a singular verb
  • Use a piece of news for one item
  • Some plural-only nouns like trousers take plural verbs

Common mistakes

  • The news are bad → The news is bad
  • Physics are difficult → Physics is difficult
💡 Tip: Look up unusual nouns, since ending in s does not always mean plural.
Practise this topic in the appPractise Intermediate quiz
← Enough and Too with InfinitiveCollective Nouns →

Related Intermediate topics

See all Intermediate grammar lessons →

Present Perfect Continuous

have been + -ing stresses duration up to now.

Past Perfect

had + past participle for an earlier past action.

Past Perfect Continuous

had been + -ing for duration before a past moment.

Future Continuous

will be + -ing for actions in progress at a future time.

Future Perfect

will have + past participle for completion before a future time.

Future Perfect Continuous

will have been + -ing for duration up to a future point.