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cloth — clothes
[different vowel sound]
“Cloth”, as an uncountable noun, is ‘any material made from weaving the threads (yarn) of cotton, wool, nylon, hair, etc.’;
- some bales of cloth (not cloths)
and as a countable noun, it is ‘a piece of woven material used for a special purpose and is often used in combination, for example, a tablecloth, dusting cloth, etc.’, and the plural is “cloths”,
- four dusting cloths
e.g.
I need a piece of cloth (a cloth) to clean the windows.
“Clothes”, which is never to be used in singular form, means ‘garments – coverings made from cloth or leather to cover a person’s body’,
- a wadrobe of clothes
e.g.
I need some new clothes to wear on my birthday.
“Clothe” is a verb, and is used to express the idea of ‘to provide or to give “clothes” for someone or oneself’; and the past tense form is ‘clothed’. It is used in very formal situations only. {‘Clothe’ is NOT the singular form of “Clothes” which is never used with numbers!}
Common Errors:
1.
She bought some cheap cloth to make curtains. [wrong]
She bought some cheap material to make curtains. [right]
2.
There aren’t many cloths shops in our small town. [wrong]
There aren’t many clothes shops in our small town. [right]
3.
He is thinking of buying two new clothes for the wedding. [wrong]
He is thinking of buying some new clothes for the wedding. [right]
OR
He is thinking of buying two pairs/suits of clothes for the wedding. [right]
4.
She went to the fancy dress ball (party) in Hungarian national clothes. [wrong]
She went to the fancy dress ball (party) in Hungarian national costume. [right]
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