"News" and other singular nouns

The words News and information are plural in many languages but singular in English. Visitors are sometimes careful to say "The news is good" or "Our information is reliable", but then fall into the trap of using "they" instead of "it" later in the sentence.

You may know these two pitfalls, but you will find other less obvious ones. "Flour", "furniture", "advice" and "money" are plural in some European languages, never in ordinary English. "Money is scarce"; "Loose change is short" (but "Coins are hard on pocket linings").

"Toast" and "fun", too: "I ate a piece of toast"; "We had lots of fun".

Words like "ethics", "politics","mathematics" and "metaphysics", although they look plural, also take a singular verb when they are treated as fields of study.

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