Comments on: Nouns That Can Only Be Plural

By: Rebecca Chekouras

Rebecca Chekouras — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:00:42 +0000

habeas corpus (just kidding)

By: Siri Gottlieb

Siri Gottlieb — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:32:35 +0000

I read your book review in the NYT and sought you out on the internet. I’m a newcomer to this delicious site. Just feel I should mention, though, that “kudos” is not plural. It is a Greek word meaning honor, glory or acclaim, and is singular.
Correct: Much kudos to you for pulling it off.
Incorrect: Many kudos to you for pulling it off.
Most people aren’t aware of this, but it never hurts to do it right.

By: Jincy

Jincy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:52:31 +0000

Thanks for binoculars, glasses, coveralls, tweezers, tongs, and tights. Not sure about nylons, though. I can imagine the singular of “nylons” being used, as in, “Nylons are cheaper than pantyhose, because if you get a run in one nylon, you can always substitute another.”

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:40:18 +0000

Hmm–interesting!

I can think of a few other “things with two parts”-type words: binoculars, glasses.

More “things with legs”: tights, nylons, coveralls.

Other pointy scissors/pliers-like things: tweezers, tongs.

I can’t think offhand of others in the thanks/congratulations vein, but I’m going to ponder!

By: Jincy

Jincy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:41:51 +0000

I think cattle is a collective noun, like sheep, or populace…

What I’m looking for are nouns that end in “s” and can only be plural. The point is that if a plural ends in “s” it should logically be able to lose the “s” and be singular. But you can’t do that with pants, scissors, and thanks.

Hi, Meg!!

By: Meg Baker

Meg Baker — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:35:20 +0000

More plural nouns:

cattle
mail

And yet some are determinedly singular:

hair
moose

I might add that cattle is the only generic word I can come up with for cows and bulls together, which has always frustrated me since it seems to refer to the meat version, but not the dairy variety. Why isn’t there a generic form like sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, etc? Are there other animal words like this?

By: Just Kristin

Just Kristin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:51:47 +0000

Continuing in the “things with legs” vein:
jeans
shorts
trousers
(although all three of these, when used in a compound noun become singular, as in jean-skirt, short-skirt (now “skort”) and trouser-press)
Also, thanks and congratulations seem to always be plural, tho I am not sure why, since they have no legs.