NOUNS THAT DO NOT ADD 'S' IN THE PLURAL (PART 2)

A number of nouns do not normally add 's' in the plural, but may do under certain circumstances.

'S' may be added to certain nouns when talking about different varieties of the noun, but not when talking about a quantity of the noun, or about the noun in general.
Here are some examples:

Bread(s)
Most of the bread we eat is baked at home. (This is about a quantity of bread.)
'. . .focus your efforts on learning how to shape your breads well.' (The Independent)
(This is about different varieties of bread.)

Fruit(s)
I keep a bowl of fruit in my kitchen. (This is about a quantity of fruit.)
If you look in the frozen section at your local supermarket, you are likely to find a selection of berries labelled 'summer fruits'. The term, 'fruits of the forest' is also in regular use and refers to another selection of mixed berries.

Meat(s)
There's plenty of meat in the freezer. (This is about a quantity of meat.)
'Sweet peppers make a great addition to grilled meats and fish.' (BBC Good Food)
(This is about different varieties of meat.)

Milk(s)
Milk is a source of calcium. (This is about milk in general.)
'The different milks tend to vary according to the way they are produced.'
(The Dairy Council)
(This is about different varieties of milk.)

Sugar(s)
Fizzy drinks contain a lot of sugar. (This is about a quantity of sugar.)
'A new WHO guideline recommends adults and children reduce their daily intake of free sugars to less than 10% of their total energy.' (World Health Organisation)
(This is about different varieties of sugar.)
Another case where 's' would be added to sugar is when talking about teaspoons of sugar in tea or coffee. If someone was asked what they take in their tea, they might answer,
'milk and two sugars, please.'
(They really mean, two teaspoons of sugar.)

Wine(s)
I have a lot of wine in my cellar. (This is about wine in general.)
'French polish: three wines from Bordeaux'. (The Guardian.)
(This is about different varieties of wine.)

Other nouns that fall into this category include:
aluminium
beer
cheese
coffee
cream
flour
food
leather
metal
pasta
plastic
porcelain
rice
salt
tea
wood
wool

Part 3 of this post will focus on nouns that sometimes have 's' added to them in the plural, for other reasons.

Please feel free to comment on or disagree with what is written here.

NOUNS THAT DO NOT ADD 'S' IN THE PLURAL (PART 1)

Certain nouns in the English language do not have separate plural forms. They are sometimes referred to as 'uncountable', or 'non-count' nouns.

One example is 'evidence'. If we are using 'evidence' as a noun, we should never add an 's' to it.

'Experimental evidence confirms that . . .' is correct.
'Experimental evidences confirm that . . .' is not correct.
(It would be correct to refer to 'pieces of evidence'.)

Other nouns that should not have an 's' added to them include:

• accommodation
• advice
• anger
• applause
• aircraft
• bravery
• chaos
• clarity
• conduct
• courage
• cowardice
• education
• electricity
• equipment
• furniture
• greed
• harm
• health
• heat
• hockey
• homework
• honesty
• hospitality
• housework
• information
• jewellery
• leisure
• literature
• livestock
• luggage
• knowledge
• machinery
• marketing
• melancholy
• moose
• mud
• news
• peace
• photography
• publicity
• pyjamas
• softness
• safety
• shopping
• sunshine
• traffic
• violence
• warmth

Some of the above nouns can become countable if we precede them with other words, such as 'items' or 'pieces'. We can refer to:

• pieces of advice
• pieces of equipment
• items/pieces of furniture
• pieces of homework
• items/pieces of information
• items/pieces of jewellery
• items/pieces of literature
• items/pieces of luggage
• items/pieces of knowledge
• items/pieces of machinery
• items/pieces of news
• items/pieces of publicity
• pairs of pyjamas
• items/pieces of shopping
• rays of sunshine

There are a number of nouns that would not normally have an 's' added to them in the plural, but may do under certain circumstances. Parts 2 and 3 of this post deal with nouns such as these.