The goods are really good by international standard

In English, the addition of 's' to a countable noun turns it into plural form.

e.g. boy (singular) -->boys (plural)

Likewise, a plural verb becomes a singular one when 's' is added to it.

e.g. sing (plural) --> sings (singular)

What I intend to discuss in this post is the change in the meaning of a word when an 's' is added to it.

Example 1 - mean / means

The word mean can be stingy or refer to whereas means takes the meaning of financial resources.

e.g. He is very mean as he is reluctant to donate to any cause.

I like the car but I don't have the means to buy it.

Example 2 air / airs

The air is the gas surrounding us but airs means 'false ways of behaving intended to make others feel that one is important'.

e.g. We cannot live without air.

He likes to put on airs wherever he goes.

Example 3 water / waters

Water is what flows in the river and what comes out of your tap. On the other hand, waters denotes an area of water regarded as under the jurisdiction of a particular country.

e.g. I drank a lot of water as I was very thirsty.

The marine police could not do anything to the pirates when they were in international waters.

Example 4 premise / premises

A previous statement from which another is inferred is called a premise. However premises refers to a house or a building including its land.

e.g. In his premise, he states that all men are born equal.

According to the agreement, the tenants are not allowed to carry out illegal activities at the rented premises.

Example 5 colour / colours

Colour means the hue we see on an object as compared to colours which is a badge or cap presented to a pupil representing his school in games or the flag of a ship.

e.g. The colour of leaves is usually green.

We passed the exam with flying colours.

Colours was presented to the boy who showed outstanding performance in sports.

Example 6 look / looks

The word look means ‘direct one’s gaze in a specified direction’.

A person’s facial appearance considered aesthetically is his looks.

e.g. I like to look at the fish swimming in the aquarium.

Many people are attracted by her gorgeous looks.

Example 7 short / shorts

Short means ‘of a small length’. However, shorts means ‘trousers that reach only to the knees or thighs’

e.g. The short boy could not reach the button in the lift and has to jump to do it.

John likes to wear shorts when he goes jogging.

Example 8 surrounding / surroundings

Surrounding has the meaning of ‘around’ compared to surroundings which carries the meaning of ‘environment’.

e.g. The pupils in the school come mainly from the surrounding housing estates.

We need to keep our surroundings pollution-free.

Example 9 good / goods

If a thing is good, it is to be desired or approved of.

Goods, on the other hand, means ‘merchandise’

e.g. The goods are really good by international standard.

Example 10 remain / remains

To remain means to be in the same place or condition during further time.

Remains refers to historical or archaeological relics or a person’s body after death.

e.g. I will remain here until a rescue team arrives here.

The remains of the murdered man was cremated.