By the end of this lesson you'll be able to make French nouns plural, spot the ones that change in a special way, and know why two forms that look different can sound exactly alike.
The basic rule: add -s
Most French nouns form the plural just as most English nouns do, by adding -s. The article changes too, as you saw with les and with des in the lesson on un, une and des.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| le livre / les livres | luh LEE-vruh / lay LEE-vruh | the book / the books |
| la table / les tables | lah TAH-bluh / lay TAH-bluh | the table / the tables |
| l'ami / les amis | lah-MEE / lay-zah-MEE | the friend / the friends |
Here's the big difference from English: the plural -s is silent. Livre and livres sound identical. Les tables differs from la table only in the sound of the article.
When the next word begins with a vowel or silent h, the s of les and des links to it with a z sound, as in les amis. That's the s of the article. The s at the end of the noun normally stays quiet.
un livre, deux livres
one book, two books
Voici les amis de Paul.
Here are Paul's friends.
Nouns that don't change
If a noun already ends in -s, -x or -z in the singular, the plural looks just the same. Only the article shows you there's more than one.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| le bus / les bus | luh BEWSS / lay BEWSS | the bus / the buses |
| le pays / les pays | luh pay-EE / lay pay-EE | the country / the countries |
| le prix / les prix | luh PREE / lay PREE | the price / the prices |
| le nez / les nez | luh NAY / lay NAY | the nose / the noses |
Ce sont des bus.
They're buses.
Nouns that take -x
Nouns ending in -eau, -au or -eu usually add -x instead of -s. This x is silent too.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| le gâteau / les gâteaux | luh gah-TOH / lay gah-TOH | the cake / the cakes |
| le bureau / les bureaux | luh bew-ROH / lay bew-ROH | the office, the desk / the offices, the desks |
| le jeu / les jeux | luh ZHUH / lay ZHUH | the game / the games |
There are a few exceptions, such as le pneu (the tyre), which becomes les pneus. Most nouns ending in -ou add a normal -s, but a small group take -x, such as le bijou (the jewel), which becomes les bijoux. You can pick these up as you meet them.
Ce sont des gâteaux.
They're cakes.
Nouns in -al become -aux
Most nouns ending in -al change that ending to -aux in the plural. This is one of the rare plurals you can actually hear, because the end of the word changes sound.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| le journal / les journaux | luh zhoor-NAHL / lay zhoor-NOH | the newspaper / the newspapers |
| l'animal / les animaux | lah-nee-MAHL / lay-zah-nee-MOH | the animal / the animals |
| l'hôpital / les hôpitaux | loh-pee-TAHL / lay-zoh-pee-TOH | the hospital / the hospitals |
| le cheval / les chevaux | luh shuh-VAHL / lay shuh-VOH | the horse / the horses |
Voici les journaux.
Here are the newspapers.
A few common -al nouns don't follow the pattern and simply add -s, such as le festival, which becomes les festivals.
One noun is a complete oddity, and you'll need it soon for describing people: l'œil (the eye) becomes les yeux (the eyes).
Choosing the right ending
When you need a plural, run through these questions in order:
- Does the noun already end in -s, -x or -z? Change nothing.
- Does it end in -al? It's probably -aux.
- Does it end in -eau, -au or -eu? It's probably -x.
- Anything else? Add -s.
What's next
Next you'll use nouns for real people in the family lesson. The lesson on mon, ma and mes then adds another word that shows the plural. Adjectives take plural endings too, which you'll see in the lesson on adjective agreement.