The good news of the week IS...

The good news is...

leofrog,

"news" ist uncountable. Das heißt, dass das Wort immer Singular ist und keinen Plural bilden kann. Also wird es auch immer mit Singular-Verbformen verwendet.

Dass "are" in deinen Ohren gut klingt, hat damit zu tun, dass das s für dich wie ein Plural-s klingt. Für einen englischen Muttersprachler ist "news" aber eindeutig Singular.

Zählbar machst du "news" je nach Kontext mit "pieces of news" oder "news items".

Beispiel:

I've got two pieces of news for you. The good news is.... The bad news is....

"This are good news" definitely does NOT sound correct.

In fact, if Germans were aware of just how horrific this plural usage of "news" sounds to native English speakers, they might me more wary about using such rediculous-sounding and totally unnecessary expressions as "die letzten News".

I was told when I was at school -many years ago- that the word NEWS is not an uncountable noun, but a (now I've forgotten the word) as in N(orth) E(ast)W(est) S(outh) because originally people said they got information from all four directions and shortened it to "news". Sounds plausable; can anyone tell me the word for such abbreviations which make a word? I can't think at the moment.

jeez...

i don't know how linguistics would define words of foreign origin like this (would interest me to know BTW) but if a word such as news enters the German language why shouldn't it be subject to German grammar rules?

Lehnwort, loan word, vgl. related discussion: loan word - das Lehnwort

No reason why it shouldn't be subject to German grammar rules. I would just question the sense in using it all.

Thanks everybody for your very valuable inputs!

John GB: I think the word you are looking for is an "acronym".

Thanks, yes acronym, that's what I was looking for...

@John GB

According to snopes.com, news is NOT an acronym for North, East, West, South.
http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/news.asp

While their explanation is not very thorough, they are generally pretty spot-on for accuracy.

@leofrog re #9:

Actually, 'input' is another noncount noun, always singular, never plural:

news is
information is
advice is
evidence is
feedback is
input is


And just as a bonus, here's a word that's tricky for German speakers because it's always plural, never singular:

police are

Actually (and I don't wish to tread on anyones toes here), the words "advice" and "input" can be used in the plural and "police" in the singular.

Well, 'inputs' maybe in technical slang, as in computer programming, but that's colloquial language, not really standard.

As for the other two, I very much doubt it. Even if you can find a few odd examples, I don't see any good reason to bring up obscure exceptions to generally useful rules. In fact, most of the time English learners will be wrong if they try to say *'police is' or *'advices are.'

Anyone who asks a question like 'Is news singular or plural?' is clearly still learning basic English. With all due respect, that person does not need a confusing and unhelpful answer.

Well, 'inputs' maybe in technical slang, as in computer programming, but that's colloquial language, not really standard.

It's neither colloquial not slang, it's just a technical term and as such of course standard. From the AHD:

Computer Science A position, terminal, or station at which input enters a system.

@ThomasJ - I agree with "input" being a technical term, but even your example shows it in singular :-))

Nothing slang about "inputs", and as any English dictionary will confirm, it is completely standard.

Same goes for "advice" in the sense of a formal notification. Maybe this sense is not the commonest, but it's certainly not obscure.

And when "police" is used in reference to a particular force it is quite usual for it to be used in the singular.

What you stated was incorrect ("always", "never"). I hardly think simply setting the facts straight can be considered unhelpful or confusing.

re #17: The fact remains that if English learners unwarily use your versions in normal writing, whether in the office or on a test at school, they should not be surprised when people assume they don't know English very well. If that's what you and they both want, then congratulations. But I don't think most people would normally define that as clear or helpful.

'Input' itself is obviously not slang, but making it plural is indeed jargon, in my opinion, and again, not a good idea for people who need help with basic English.

The question is whether you are honestly trying to help learners, or just looking for obscure (and I stand by that word) excuses for an argument. People familiar with this forum can surely draw their own conclusions.

@Carly: The point, of course, was that in this sense the word is countable, thus allowing a plural to be formed.

I'm not sure what you mean by my "versions".

Unfortunately you opinion regarding "inputs" seems to be based more on ignorance than on anything else.

Anyhow, I am not looking for excuses for an argument. I simply don't think any learner benefits from being told things that are untrue. And you could have got your point across quite clearly by writing "usually", "often", "less commonly, "rarely" etc. rather than "always" and "never".

Hello there everybody, and thanks for your inputs - sorry, I mean input - it is all very interesting and I think I can understand the difference.
@ hm-us: thank you for the additional information!

Here is another one for you: the other day we had the same discussion about the word "turbulence". Is it "turbulences are to be expected" or "turbulence is to be expected" (in an aircraft during a flight), i.e. can "turbulence" be used in plural or not?

"Turbulence" is not generally used in the plural. Not that someone going on a googling trip wouldn't turn up a few examples. They're the exception rather than the rule

comment to #15: 'inputs' plural is definitely NOT slang and barely can be seen as solely being jargon. It is definitely, without doubt, with no question, standard English. :)I agree with Felix. Right on the money! :)

@Phillip

No googling trip needed: "turbulences" is in the big Webster.

turbulence 2: an instance or case of turbulence

For some reason half of #24 got swallowed.

turbulence 2: an instance or case of turbulence "gigantic turbulences set up in this vast poisonous atmosphere by the planet's ... rapid rotation ..."

@Felix - LEO swallows italics :-)

P.S. That is, italics in < > type brackets

@Carly

It was text enclosed in pointed brackets (i.e. greater than /less than signs or whatever they're called). Maybe LEO thought it was an HTML tag gone wrong.

@Felix - LEO swallowed my greater than/less than signs in #27, too :-)) So, LEO is not only hungry for the wordswithin those particular signs, but for signs, themselves :-)