11 Nouns That Only Have a Plural Form

Of all the grammar concepts we have, plural seems to be one of

the most straightforward. You got one thing? Its singular. Got more
than one thing? Its plural. But alas, language is always less
straightforward than we expect. The way we conceptualize
somethingas one thing or many thingsdoesnt always match up
with the way our word for it behaves. There are some nouns that
only have a plural form, regardless of how we think of them. They
are known as pluralia tantum, Latin for plural only. Here are 11
of them.

1.Scissors

Scissors has a plural verb agreement. We say, the scissors are over
there, not "the scissors is over there." Scissors likes to hang on to
its s. We can say give me a pair of scissors, but not give me a
scissor. True, there is a sense in which scissors are two objects, two
blades, being used as one tool, and many similar tools are
also pluralia tantum: pliers, tongs, tweezers, forceps. But not all
such tools are plural. A clamp, a bear trap, and a flat iron are also
tools made of two joined parts, and they are singular.

2. Goggles

Goggles, glasses, and binoculars only show up in the plural. They

are also generally conceived of as unitary objects, though they are
made up of two connected parts. When new words are coined for
things that function in front of the eyes, they will usually inherit the
grammatical plurality (Blue Blockers, RayBans), but not always (see
View Master, Google Glass).

3. Pants

In the rarefied world of fashion reporting, you may see pant show
up as a singular noun (a floral pant is a must-have for spring), but
for the rest of us pants is strictly plural. The tendency toward
plural forms for clothing that provides separate enclosures for the
two legs is strong: shorts, jeans, bloomers, tights, leggings, trousers,
chaps, etc. The tendency for new such words to be coined with
plurality is also strong: bell bottoms, skinnies, capris. We even say
things like, Levis are popular, even though the brand name is
actually not plural, but possessiveLevis.

4. Panties

The word underwear is a mass noun that takes singular agreement

(your underwear is showing) but there are a cluster of pluralia
tantum underwear words. In addition to panties, we have drawers,
boxers, briefs, and tighty whities. Interestingly, the thong is singular
(perhaps because leg enclosure has little to do with it?), and so is the
bra (though it shares the shape characteristics of glasses and
goggles).
5. Clothes

Pluralia tantum are often objects that involve some kind of

connected pairing of two identical things, but they can also be terms
for large collections of dissimilar things. Clothes, for example, can
be shirts, pants, skirts, jackets, or underwear. Manners can be ways
of talking, eating, or greeting. Pyjamas are the top and bottom taken
together.

6. Riches

There are a number of pluralia tantum that refer to possession or

ownership. In addition to riches, there are furnishings, belongings,
earnings and valuables.

7. Jitters

There are also a few pluralia tantum having to do with mood or

feelings. You can have the blues or be in the doldrums, but not have
a blue or be in a doldrum. Likewise, jitters, willies, and heebie-
jeebies always come in groups.

8. Shenanigans

Words for activities that might be individually very different in their

specifics but similar in some general aspect will sometimes
be pluralia tantum. You may indulge in shenanigans, heroics, or
hysterics, or sometimes all three.
9. Remains

There is a small group of pluralia tantum for whats left after the
dust has settled. They may be remains, ruins, or leftovers.

10. Annals

There does happen to be a singular noun annal. It means the

recorded events of one year. But we almost never see it this way.
Most of us use annals in the way we use other plurals from set,
antiquated phrases, pluralia tantum like alms and amends.

11. Suds

Suds is a strange one. Usually a word for a mass of stuff made of

teeny, tiny individuated parts will be a mass noun. For example,
rice, sand, sugar, and salt are all mass nouns. Mass nouns have
singular verb agreement (the rice is cooked). Suds is a plural noun
and has plural agreement (the suds are everywhere). Does this
mean we care more about individual soap bubbles than individual
grains of rice? Probably not. Is that what a sud even is? A bubble?
It doesnt matter anyway, because we can know what suds are
without knowing what a sud is. Thats the beauty of pluralia tantum.

Many of these words have an s-less form as attributive nouns, i.e.,

when they are acting like adjectives (scissor kick, panty raid,
pyjama day). This is not the same as having a singular form.