Words that describe paired things are often always plural both in Russian and English, for examlpe: но́жницы — scissors, очки́ — glasses, штаны́ — pants (US), трусы́ — trousers. In Russian some materials, substances and the like are either always plural or always singular: вода́ — water (there is a word во́ды, but it means water bodies, and used rarely), желе́зо — iron; words that mean feelings, states are often in singular: злость — anger, грусть — sadness. Words that tell you an attribute, some quality are singular too: доброта́ — kindness, постоя́нство — constancy, persistance. Some words just have a different form when they are in their plural form: люди (people, men) is always plural of человек (human, man, person).
Unfortunately, there is no way to tell exactly by how a word looks if the word only has the singular or plural form. Only the meaning of the word can give some suggestions.