Tricky Subjects (news, scissors, -ics, titles)

Here's a sentence that has tripped up more bright students than I'd care to count: "The news are good." It looks right. News ends in s. More than one new thing has happened, right? Then your teacher marks it wrong, and you're left staring at "The news is good" thinking the language has lost the plot.

You're not alone — I promise. English has a small, mischievous set of words that lie about their own number. Some look plural and insist on being singular. Some look like they should take is and demand are. Book titles and company names join the party. None of this is random once you sit with it — but until somebody names the patterns, it feels personal, like the language is picking on you specifically.

Let's be honest — nobody's born knowing this. You pick it up the first time you write "maths are hard" and the red pen arrives. This article is the map. And the good news is it's a short one — a handful of groups, a couple of tricks, and you're through the worst of it.

Before you read on, here's where we're heading. By the end of this article, you'll be able to: - Spot words that end in -s but still take a singular verb (news, maths, measles). - Spot tools and clothes that always take a plural verb (scissors, trousers, glasses). - Treat titles and company names as singular units. - Use the handy "a pair of…" fix so you don't have to fight the verb. - Know when not to worry about "team is / team are" (and where to go instead).

Beginner (Foundation)

Here's the thing. Most of the time, English is fair. One cat sits. Two cats sit. Add an s to the noun, change the verb — done. But some words break the deal on purpose. They end in s and still act like one thing — or they don't end in s the way you'd expect and still act like many things.

Start with the always-singular group. These words look plural because of that final s, but they name one subject, one field, one illness, one package of information. So they take a singular verb — is, was, has, seems.

Try them out loud:

• The news is on at six. (Not are.)
• Mathematics is my favourite subject this term. (Or maths — same idea.)
• Physics was tricky on that paper.
• Measles is highly contagious.
• Mumps has almost gone from our school clinics.

Why do they work this way? Because news isn't "lots of new things" in the grammar of the sentence — it's one report, one broadcast, one block of information. Mathematics is one subject on your timetable, not a pile of separate "mathematic" things. Measles is the name of a disease — treated as a single condition, not a swarm of spots.

Now flip it. Some everyday objects are made of two matching parts, and English treats them as already plural. Scissors, trousers, glasses (the kind you wear), shorts, jeans, pliers. Even when you're holding one single pair, the noun itself is plural — so the verb is plural too:

• My scissors are on the art table.
• Your trousers are too long — we'll pin them.
• Those glasses make him look like a detective.

If that feels awkward, English gives you a workaround almost designed for school writing: "a pair of…". The subject becomes pair, which is singular:

• A pair of scissors is missing from the drawer.
• That pair of trousers was left in the changing room.

Same objects, different subject. The verb just has to follow the word that's actually doing the job of subject — nothing more mysterious than that.

And finally, for the foundation: when the title of a book, film, game or album is the subject, treat the whole title as one thing — even if the words inside it look plural.

• The Hunger Games is on our reading list. (The book is one work.)
• The Avengers was brilliant. (One film.)

You're not counting the people or the games inside the title. You're naming one work — one thing that sits on a shelf or a screen.

Quick recap: - Words like news, maths, physics, measles, mumps look plural but take a singular verb. - Tools and clothes with two parts (scissors, trousers, glasses) take a plural verb. - "A pair of …" turns the subject singular: a pair of scissors is… - Book, film and game titles are singular units: The Hunger Games is…

Intermediate (Development)

Once the foundation feels solid, the next job is learning the common relatives of these words — and the places students reliably go wrong in essays and exams. I've marked enough coursework to know exactly where the red pen tends to land.

The "always singular despite -s" club is bigger than the five words above. Many school subjects ending in -ics behave the same way — mathematics, physics, economics (when you mean the subject), politics (as a field of study), gymnastics, athletics, linguistics. In the classroom:

• Gymnastics is first period on Wednesday.
• Economics has more reading than I expected.
• Athletics starts after half-term.

There's a catch worth knowing early. When politics, statistics or acoustics mean a body of individual facts or opinions — not the whole subject — writers sometimes switch to plural. At this level, stick with singular for the school-subject meaning; the "many facts" reading is mostly Advanced territory, and we'll get to it. For homework and essays right now: Politics is complicated will almost always mark as correct.

Illness names often work the same way — measles, mumps, rickets, shingles. They're disease names, not countable "things," so singular. (Compare: These symptoms are serious — symptoms is a normal, honest plural.)

Now the tools-and-clothes family again, with a school-life twist. You can be writing about one physical set and still need the plural verb, because under English habit the word itself is plural:

• The scissors in the DT cupboard need oiling.
• His shorts were the wrong colour for PE.
• Her glasses keep fogging up in the lab.

Where people go wrong is making the verb "match the sense" instead of matching the word on the page. You buy one school jumper — but you don't buy "one trouser." The language already decided that one for you.

Company and organisation names at school level — clubs, brands, platforms — are usually treated as singular in formal writing, even when the name contains a plural-looking word:

• Nintendo is releasing a new console.
• Manchester United plays tonight. (Careful — football clubs sit right next to the collective-noun debate. See the redirect below.)
• Our Student Council meets on Fridays.
• Google has a new privacy setting.

And titles again, with a touch more range:

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is longer than Book One.
• Les Misérables was the musical we did last year.
• The Chronicles of Narnia is a series, not one short story.

Notice Chronicles ends in s, and Les Misérables looks fancy and foreign — still singular, both of them. The title is one entry on a list, one product, one work.

Important redirect — don't get stuck here. If what you're really wondering is whether it's the team is or the team are, the class is or the class are, that's a different question altogether. It's about collective nouns, and UK and US writers often disagree — cheerfully and endlessly. That whole conversation lives in Pillar 1's collective-noun articles. This article is about the lexical oddballs — isolated words and fixed titles that pretend to be something they're not. So we nod at the team question, point you across, and come straight back to news and scissors.

Common Mistake: Writing The news are good because news ends in s. It doesn't — the news is good. Memorise the short list; don't invent a pattern from the ending alone.

Pro-Tip: When you panic in an exam, try a pair of for scissors/trousers/glasses, or swap the title for this book / this film. If this book is works, then The Hunger Games is works too. It's the same test, wearing a fancier coat.

Quick recap: - Most school -ics subjects (maths, physics, economics, gymnastics) take singular verbs. - Disease names like measles and mumps are singular. - Company, brand and organisation names are usually singular in formal school writing. - Collective team/class/family agreement is not this article — go to Pillar 1.

Advanced (Mastery)

At mastery level you're not just dodging red pens — you're choosing the form that matches the meaning you actually want, and you're starting to notice when good writers bend the catalogue on purpose, for style.

First, the -ics words, more carefully. When the word names a discipline, stick with singular:

• Linguistics is more about patterns than exception lists.
• Statistics is a required module in Year 12.

But when statistics means individual figures, plural is natural — and correct:

• The latest statistics show a drop in bike thefts near school.
• These statistics are outdated.

Same surface word, two entirely different jobs. Ask yourself: am I naming the subject, or naming several numbers? That one small question solves half the advanced cases before they even become cases.

Politics shifts the same way. Politics is a dirty business (the field). His politics are well known (his particular set of views). You're allowed both — just be consistent inside a single sentence, and don't wobble mid-thought.

Second, clothing and tools with a bit of variety. Glasses meaning eyewear are always plural. Glass meaning the thing you drink from is a normal, ordinary noun — this glass is cracked. Spectacles behave like glasses. Some British speakers still say a scissors in dialect, and there's nothing wrong with them — but formal school English wants either scissors are or a pair of scissors is. What you mustn't do is mix the two into these scissors is.

Third, titles with plurals tucked inside them. Even when a title contains a plural or a joined-up subject, the title as a whole stays singular, because it names one artefact:

• The Silence of the Lambs is a thriller. (One film — the lambs aren't the subject.)
• Guns, Germs and Steel is the book half the class has half-read.

If you drop the italicised title and rephrase with a normal noun, the verb follows that noun instead: Those lambs are silent is a completely different sentence. Agreement tracks the subject you chose — not the words caught inside the story.

Fourth, company names with a plural form. Apple is, Microsoft has, Adobe updates. Even names that genuinely look plural usually stay singular in careful prose — General Motors is launching… Some house styles (especially British business journalism) allow plural when they're stressing the people inside the firm, but for school essays and exams, singular is safer and cleaner. If the idea of "the company as a crowd of people" is what pulls at you, that's notional concord — and that thinking properly belongs in Article 5.7. Use this article's catalogue; save 5.7 for when the philosophical "one unit or many heads?" question actually arrives.

Fifth, a few scraps worth knowing so nothing blindsides you in your reading:

• Billiards, darts and cards (the games) often take singular when named as games: Darts is popular in the village hall.
• Amounts and measurements follow their own separate path — Ten pounds is enough for a single sum — which is amount thinking, not news/scissors thinking. Don't mash the two rules together.
• The United States is usually singular as a country name — The United States is… — much like a title. You'll spot plural verbs in older texts, but modern exam English prefers singular.

Register matters too. A text to a friend can say scissors are or those trousers look mad and nobody frets. A coursework essay wants the clean default — singular for news/maths/titles/companies; plural for bare scissors/trousers/glasses; a pair of when you fancy an easy singular subject.

And once more — gently but firmly: team / staff / government / family agreement is Pillar 1 territory, complete with a genuine UK/US split. Don't invent a second set of "rules" for collectives here. Send the reader across, and keep this page for the liars-with-an-s.

Common Mistake: Treating the United States or the Netherlands as automatic plurals just because of the s. Modern formal English almost always uses singular for the country as one political unit.

Pro-Tip: When editing your own essay, circle every subject that ends in s. Then ask three questions: (1) Is it a disease, a subject-name, or news? → singular. (2) Is it two-part clothing or tools without pair? → plural. (3) Is it a title or company name? → singular. That little filter catches nearly every trap on this page.

Quick recap: - -ics words are singular as subjects/disciplines, sometimes plural as collections of facts (statistics show). - His politics are… vs Politics is… both work — match the meaning. - Titles and most company names stay singular units even with plural-looking words inside. - Country names like the United States take singular verbs in modern formal English. - Collective-noun UK/US choices → Pillar 1; deep "unit vs people" thinking → Article 5.7.

UK vs US Usage

The catalogue above is shared right across UK and US English — news is, scissors are, mathematics is, The Avengers is, Google is. Spelling wanders a little (UK maths and trousers sit beside US math and pants), but the number agreement for these lexical oddities does not budge. The genuine UK/US split you might be half-remembering is collective nouns — the team is vs the team are — and that's owned outright by Pillar 1. Don't import that debate into news or scissors; the lists here behave exactly the same on both sides of the Atlantic.

Key Takeaways

• News, maths/mathematics, physics, measles, mumps and most school -ics subjects take singular verbs despite the -s.
• Scissors, trousers, glasses, shorts, jeans take plural verbs; use a pair of X is to flip to singular.
• Book, film, album and series titles are singular units.
• Company and organisation names are usually singular in formal writing.
• Collective team/class agreement is a different topic — follow the link to Pillar 1, not this page.

Check Your Understanding

1. Correct the verb if needed: The news are amazing today.
2. Choose: My glasses (is / are) broken.
3. Full sentence with agreement: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — is or are?
4. Why is Economics is challenging preferred for a timetable subject?
5. Where should you look if your real question is the football team is / are?

Answer key 1. The news is amazing today. 2. are 3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is… (one book/film, treated as a title unit) 4. Because economics names one school subject/discipline, treated as singular. 5. Pillar 1's collective-noun articles (the UK/US pair) — not this article.

Internal links (Pillar 5 library)

• Hub (Pillar 5 agreement hub)
• Pillar 1 collective-noun UK/US pair (mandatory redirect)
• Pillar 2 (noun classification — back-link)
• Article 5.7 (notional concord — company as unit vs many people)
• Related basics: Pillar 1 basic subject–verb agreement; Pillar 4 verb forms

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