Nouns and Making Plurals in French

In this lesson, we look at how to make singular nouns plural in French.

In other words, when we switch from talking about “the brother” to “the brothers,” for example.

General Rule: Add an ‘-s’

Notice how in English, if we’re talking about more than one of something, we can add an ‘-s’ to show that.

A lot of the time, making plurals in French is the same as in English: we add an ‘-s.’ You’ll notice that the ‘-s’ in French is not always pronounced, it often only appears in the spelling, although the word for “the” does change in both spelling and pronunciation.

For example:
‘Le frère’ (“the brother”) becomes ‘les frères’ (“the brothers”). Similarly, ‘le sœur’ (“the sister”) becomes ‘les sœurs.’

You can also use ‘des frères’ for “some brothers,” or ‘des sœurs’ for “some sisters.”

Exceptions:

Just like in English, there’s lots of exceptions to this rule.

Sometimes it depends on the ending of the word…

Words ending in ‘-al’

For words that end in ‘-al,’ the ending becomes ‘-aux’ and the pronunciation changes.

For example:
‘Le journal,’ “the newspaper,” becomes ‘les journaux,’ “the newspapers.”

Words ending in ‘-eau’

These words add an ‘-x’ in the plural, rather than ‘-s.’

For example:
‘Le chateau,’ “the castle,” becomes ‘les chateaux,’ “the castles.”

Words ending in ‘-eu’

These words also add an ‘-x’ in the plural, rather than ‘-s.’

For example:
‘Un cheveu,’ “a hair,” becomes ‘les cheveux,’ “the hairs.”

A notable exception is ‘le bleu,’ which can mean “blue object” or “bruise,” which becomes ‘les bleus.’

Words ending ‘-s,’ ‘-x,’ or ‘-z’

These words do not change in the plural.

For example:
‘La souris,’ “the mouse,” becomes ‘les souris,’ “the mice.”
Similarly, ‘le prix,’ “the price” becomes ‘les prix,’ “the prices.”
‘Le nez,’ “nose” becomes ‘les nez.’

Words ending ‘-ail’

These generally add an ‘-s’ as usual, with a couple of notable exceptions.

Exceptions:
‘Un émail’ (“email”) becomes ‘les émaux.’
‘Le travail’ (“work”) becomes ‘les travaux,’ meaning “works.”