What’s wrong with equipments?

The mistake many learners make is adding -s to the word equipment. Unlike countable nouns such as book / books or chair / chairs, the word equipment is an uncountable noun, which means it does not have a plural form. “Equipments” is incorrect in standard English because equipment already refers to a collection of items used for a purpose.

For example, you might say: “The photographer brought all his equipment to the studio.” Here, “equipment” refers collectively to cameras, lights, and tools. You wouldn’t say “He brought his equipments.” Instead, if you want to specify different types, you need to use expressions like “pieces of equipment” or “types of equipment.” For example: “Three pieces of laboratory equipment were tested.”

This rule applies to many other uncountable nouns in English like furniture, information, advice, news, clothing. None of these take an -s plural. For instance, you would say “I need some advice” (not advices) and “The company bought new furniture” (not furnitures).

For learners, the best tip is to remember that uncountable nouns are usually things that are difficult to number individually. Instead of counting them, you qualify them with words like some, a lot of, a piece of, a type of. Practicing these forms will prevent you from accidentally adding an “s” to nouns like equipment—a common error noticed by native speakers. Using these terms correctly in professional or academic writing immediately makes your English sound more accurate and polished.