English - With or without an "S"

With "S' Without "S"

It is interesting to note that certain English words whereby the meaning is totally different when you add an “s" behind them: 

 Quarter - ¼ Quarters - accommodation A quarter of his salary is spent on entertainment. Living quarters are provided for the workers near the factory. 

 Spectacle - a grand performance Spectacles - glasses The national day procession was a magnificent spectacle. I can’t see anything without my spectacles. 

 Arm - part of the body Arms - weapons His arm was injured in a car accident. Some countries are spending more money on buying arms than on education. 

 Cloth - a piece of material Clothes - garments You use a piece of cloth to wipe the table. When you grow older you don’t wear fancy clothes anymore.

 Beside- next to something or someone Besides - in addition. Don’t’ go anywhere stay beside me. Besides poverty, the people have to endure natural disasters. 

 Sometime - a time in the past or future Sometimes - occasionally I’ll see you sometime next week. I normally stay at home on Sunday but sometimes I do go out and visit my friends.

 Ash- the remain of something which has been burnt Ashes -the remain of a dead person after burning Don’t litter the place with your cigarette ash. His ashes were scattered at sea. 

 Custom – way of life for a particular group of people Customs – the place you go to when you enter or leave a country for tax purposes It is the custom of the Chinese to give Ang Pow during Chinese New Year, After leaving the customs she took a taxi to the hotel. 

 Look - the act of looking Looks -appearance Don’t look at me like that. The girls liked him, he has good looks. 

 Minute - 60 seconds Minutes - records of a meeting Please wait a minute for me. The secretary is taking the minutes of the meeting 

 Account - description Accounts - financial records Can you give me an account of the incident? He works in the accounts department