How to change the s setting on my nikon 5100?

I just got a new slr camera. It is a nikon d5100. This is my first nikon and i'm not totally sure how to work the different settings. I know that the shutter mode on my old canon is 'tv' and on the nikon it is 's' but when i have it on s mode the picture comes out completely black. How do i change that?

I bet you will find the answer in your manual.

Step one, open the manual
Step two, read the manual
Step three, do what it tells you.

Supposedly you had purchased a new camera which means that you Should Still have the Lovely Owners Manual which means that You haven't bothered to Pick Up and Started Reading Your Owners Manual Yet. You probably would had Discovered the Answer to the Question Simply By Reading the Owners Manual.

Just in case you are finding all the other answers a little confusing:

When you bought the camera, you also got a book with it (or possibly a CD, instead).
That book (or CD) contains very VERY important and valuabe information which will help you to understand your new toy.
Just in case you did NOT get a book or a CD, go to the Nikon website and download the appropriate book in PDF form.

Regardless of the format (book, CD or PDF ) the message remains the same:

READ THE MANUAL!