# Plurals

https://langs123.com/en/french/nom-determinants/pluriel/
CEFR A1–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> 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** chat**s**, **des** livre**s**

## Summary

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Regular plural | **-s** after the noun | un livre / des livre**s** | 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 bureau**x** | an office / offices |
| Plural in -aux | **-al** → **-aux** | un cheval / des chev**aux** | a horse / horses |
| Exceptions in -s | a few nouns in **-al** and **-eu** take **-s** | un festival / des festival**s** | 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 chat**s** dorment. | The cats are sleeping. |
| Trap | **-al** gives **-aux**, never **-als** | Les chev**aux** mangent. | The horses are eating. |

## Overview

- To form the plural, add **-s** to the noun. un livre / des livre**s** (a book / books)
- The article changes too: **les** replaces **le**, **la** and **l’**, and **des** replaces **un** and **une**. **les** enfants / **des** amis (the children / friends)
- All the forms of the articles: see Articles.
- The plural of adjectives: see Adjectives.

## Form: -s, -x and -aux

| Ending | Plural | Examples |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| most nouns | **-s** | des livre**s** / des table**s** | books / tables |
| **-s**, **-x**, **-z** | no change | des **pays** / des **voix** / des **nez** | countries / voices / noses |
| **-eau**, **-eu** | **-x** | des bureau**x** / des jeu**x** | offices / games |
| **-al** | **-aux** | des journ**aux** / des anim**aux** | newspapers / animals |
| **bal**, **festival**, **pneu** | **-s** | des festival**s** / des pneu**s** | 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

| Singular | Plural |
| --- | --- |
| 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** enfants (the 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

| Noun | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **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

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Il y a un enfants. | Il y a **des** enfants. | **un** and **une** become **des** in the plural |
| Les chat dorment. | Les chat**s** dorment. | the plural **-s** is written even though it is not heard |
| des chevals | des chev**aux** | **-al** becomes **-aux** in the plural |
| des bureaus | des bureau**x** | **-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** |