Is "news" singular or plural in English?

Got something exciting to tell your friends? Should you say you have "a news," "some news," or "many news"? If you speak German, "a news" might feel natural, because German has eine Nachricht and Nachrichten. In English, though, only "some news" works.

Why "news" is always singular

"News" is an uncountable noun, just like "information" and "advice." It ends in "s," but it isn't plural. You can have some news or a lot of news, but you can't count it, and it always takes a singular verb.

• Have you heard the news? Sarah's getting married!
• I've got some good news and some bad news.
• Is there any news about the job?
• The news is on at six.

So it's "The news is great," not "The news are great." And it's "a lot of news," not "many news."

What about a single news item?

Because you can't say "a news," English adds another word when you want to talk about one specific update. "A piece of news" works, but it can sound a bit formal. In everyday conversation, people often use "news story," "news report," or just "update."

• There were two big news stories about it this morning.
• Thanks for the update!
• I just heard an interesting piece of news.

So no matter how much of it you get, "news" always stays singular. And if that clears things up, well, that's good news.

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