Stop Adding “S” to These Words! 🇬🇧

Stop Adding “S” to These Words! 🇬🇧

One of the quickest ways to sound slightly unnatural in English is by adding -s to nouns that are normally uncountable.

Even very advanced learners sometimes say things like:

❌ advices
❌ informations
❌ furnitures
❌ homeworks
❌ accommodations

In standard British English, these forms usually sound incorrect because the nouns are treated as uncountable.

Here are some of the most common examples:

• accommodation
  “We need to find accommodation near the station.”

• advice
  “Can you give me some advice?”

• information
  “I need some information about the course.”

• furniture
  “The furniture in that flat was awful.”

• luggage
  “How much luggage are you taking?”

• homework
  “I haven’t finished my homework yet.”

• equipment
  “The gym has excellent equipment.”

• traffic
  “The traffic was terrible this morning.”

• research
  “She’s doing research into language learning.”

• weather
  “The weather’s been miserable lately.”

And there are many more:

• work
  “I’ve got too much work to do.”

• money
  “Money can cause a lot of stress.”

• bread
  “Could you buy some bread?”

• news
  “The news is depressing these days.”
  (It looks plural, but it’s grammatically singular.)

• progress
  “You’re making good progress.”

• knowledge
  “She has extensive knowledge of the subject.”

• hair
  “Your hair looks nice.”
  (Usually uncountable when talking generally, although individual hairs can be counted.)

• travel
  “Travel broadens the mind.”

• behaviour
  “His behaviour was unacceptable.”

• stuff
  “I’ve got loads of stuff to do.”

• cash
  “I haven’t got any cash on me.”

• luck
  “Good luck with the exam.”

• scenery
  “The scenery was breathtaking.”

• evidence
  “There isn’t enough evidence.”

• shopping
  “I did some shopping this afternoon.”

English becomes even more confusing because some uncountable nouns can become countable in special contexts:

• two coffees (= two cups of coffee)

• three teas (= three cups of tea)

• different cheeses (= different types of cheese)

• the wines of France (= varieties of wine)

So yes — English occasionally breaks its own rules just to keep learners on their toes.

These small details may seem minor, but they make a big difference if you want your English to sound more natural, accurate, and confident at C1/C2 level.