Learn English – Why does American English pluralize certain singular nouns

american-english

I keep hearing "A savings of $10" or that something is "a ways off".

Sounds deeply weird to my British English ear.

Best Answer

I generally consider "saving" to be the act and "savings" the resulting product of that act. This pundit/economist makes a similar point.

So I might say "I made a savings of $10." or "I am saving $10 by switching vendors."

I don't consider savings plural, but a collective noun. This is similar to

"One billion dollars is a lot of money."

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