The plural is usually written with ‑s but not heard: the article shows it, les chats. The noun takes ‑s and the article changes: les chats, des livres
Summary
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Point | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular plural | ‑s after the noun | un livre / des livres | a book / books | |
| Articles | le → les, un → des | les enfants / des amis | the children / friends | |
| In speech | the ‑s is silent, the article is heard | le chat / les chats | the cat / the cats | |
| No change | ‑s, ‑x, ‑z: the plural is identical | le pays / les pays | the country / the countries | |
| Plural in ‑x | ‑eau → ‑eaux, ‑eu → ‑eux | un bureau / des bureaux | an office / offices | |
| Plural in ‑aux | ‑al → ‑aux | un cheval / des chevaux | a horse / horses | |
| Exceptions in ‑s | a few nouns in ‑al and ‑eu take ‑s | un festival / des festivals | a festival / festivals | |
| Irregular plurals | œil → yeux, monsieur → messieurs | un œil / des yeux | an eye / eyes | |
| Always plural | les vacances, les lunettes, les gens | Il porte des lunettes. | He wears glasses. | |
| Trap | write the ‑s even when you cannot hear it | Les chats dorment. | The cats are sleeping. | |
| Trap | ‑al gives ‑aux, never ‑als | Les chevaux mangent. | The horses are eating. |
Overview
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
- To form the plural, add ‑s to the noun. un livre / des livresa book / books
- The article changes too: les replaces le, la and l’, and des replaces un and une. les enfants / des amisthe children / friends
- All the forms of the articles: see Articles.
- The plural of adjectives: see Adjectives.
Form: ‑s, ‑x and ‑aux
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Ending | Plural | Examples | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| most nouns | ‑s | des livres / des tables | books / tables | |
| ‑s, ‑x, ‑z | no change | des pays / des voix / des nez | countries / voices / noses | |
| ‑eau, ‑eu | ‑x | des bureaux / des jeux | offices / games | |
| ‑al | ‑aux | des journaux / des animaux | newspapers / animals | |
| bal, festival, pneu | ‑s | des festivals / des pneus | festivals / tyres | |
| travail | travaux | Les travaux durent trois mois. | The works last three months. | |
| œil | yeux | Elle a les yeux verts. | She has green eyes. | |
| monsieur, madame | messieurs, mesdames | Mesdames et Messieurs, bonsoir ! | Ladies and gentlemen, good evening! |
- Family names take no ‑s. Les Martin habitent à Lyon.The Martins live in Lyon.
Pronunciation: the silent plural
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Singular | Plural | Level |
|---|---|---|
| le chat /lə ʃa/ | les chats /le ʃa/ | |
| un ami /œ̃ nami/ | des amis /de zami/ | |
| un cheval /œ̃ ʃəval/ | des chevaux /de ʃəvo/ | |
| un œuf /œ̃ nœf/ | des œufs /de zø/ | |
| un œil /œ̃ nœj/ | des yeux /de zjø/ |
- The plural ‑s is silent: in speech the article shows the plural, le /lə/, les /le/.
- Before a vowel, the ‑s of les and des is pronounced /z/. les amis / des enfantsthe friends / some children
- Nouns in ‑al change sound in the plural: cheval /ʃəval/, chevaux /ʃəvo/.
- In œufs /ø/ and bœufs /bø/, the final f is silent. Je mange des œufs.I eat eggs.
- For all the liaisons, see Liaison and Elision.
Nouns that are always plural
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A2.
| Noun | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| les vacances | Les vacances sont longues. | The holidays are long. | |
| les lunettes | Il porte des lunettes. | He wears glasses. | |
| les gens | Les gens sont gentils ici. | The people are kind here. | |
| les ciseaux | Passe-moi les ciseaux, s’il te plaît. | Pass me the scissors, please. |
Typical errors
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Wrong | Right | Rule | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il y a un enfants. | Il y a des enfants. | un and une become des in the plural | |
| Les chat dorment. | Les chats dorment. | the plural ‑s is written even though it is not heard | |
| des chevals | des chevaux | ‑al becomes ‑aux in the plural | |
| des bureaus | des bureaux | ‑eau takes ‑x in the plural | |
| des œils | des yeux | the plural of œil is yeux | |
| des monsieurs | des messieurs | the plural of monsieur is messieurs |