In English there are nouns which are used only in the plural.
1) Pair nouns
| noun | sentence |
|---|---|
| jeans | Where are my jeans? |
| glasses | She has lost her glasses. |
| scissors | These scissors don't cut well. |
If you want to refer to an exact number, use a/one pair of, like in the following example.
I have bought a/one pair of jeans.
I
have bought two pairs of jeans.
other nouns: binoculars, headphones, pyjamas, scales, shorts, tights, trousers
2) Nouns not used in the singular (headwords)
| noun | sentence |
|---|---|
| cattle | Male cattle are called bulls. |
| clothes | He bought some new clothes yesterday. |
| stairs | The children ran down the stairs. |
| wages | The wages are paid on the last day of the month. |
| people* | Three people were killed in the car crash last Friday evening. |
| police | Look! The police are coming. |
* The word people can be used in the singular with another meaning:
They are a friendly people.
The native peoples of Africa often have black skins.
3) Nationalities
The following nationalities (no -s) are used in the pural:
the Dutch, the British, the English, the French, the Spanish, the Welsh
The singular of the English would be: the Englishman
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