Plurals
Most plurals just add a silent -s, so in speech the article carries the number. The rest fall into a few tidy families worth learning for writing.
The main patterns
The plural -s is silent, so le livre and les livres differ only by the article sound.
Most nouns
Plural+ s
Examplesun ami, des amis
-s, -x, -z
Pluralno change
Examplesun bras, des bras ; une voix, des voix ; un nez, des nez
-au, -eau, -eu
Plural+ x
Examplesun tuyau, des tuyaux ; un bateau, des bateaux ; un jeu, des jeux
Exceptions+ s: des pneus, des bleus, des landaus
-ou
Plural+ s
Examplesun trou, des trous
Exceptions+ x: bijou, caillou, chou, genou, hibou, joujou, pou
-al
Plural-aux
Examplesun journal, des journaux ; un cheval, des chevaux
Exceptions+ s: bal, carnaval, chacal, festival, récital, régal
-ail
Plural+ s
Examplesun détail, des détails
Exceptions-aux: bail, corail, émail, soupirail, travail, vantail, vitrail
Irregular plurals
A small group, all common.
un œil
Pluraldes yeux
Note'Eye' changes completely. Pronounced /jø/
le ciel
Pluralles cieux
NoteLiterary or religious; des ciels for painted skies
monsieur
Pluralmessieurs
NotePronounced /mesjø/
madame
Pluralmesdames
mademoiselle
Pluralmesdemoiselles
un œuf
Pluraldes œufs
Notef sounded in singular, silent in plural: /œf/, /ø/
un bœuf
Pluraldes bœufs
NoteSame change: /bœf/, /bø/
un os
Pluraldes os
Notes sounded in singular, traditionally silent in plural: /ɔs/, /o/
- Elle a les yeux bleus.She has blue eyes.
- Mesdames et messieurs, bonsoir.Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
- Je voudrais six œufs, s'il vous plaît.I'd like six eggs, please.
Compound nouns
Ask what each part is. Nouns and adjectives can vary. Verbs, adverbs and prepositions cannot. Since the 1990 spelling reform, verb + noun and preposition + noun compounds may simply take a final -s in the plural (des porte-monnaies). Both traditional and reformed spellings are accepted.
noun + noun
Ruleboth usually vary
Examplesdes choux-fleurs, des wagons-lits
noun + adjective, adjective + noun
Ruleboth vary
Examplesdes coffres-forts, des grands-pères
noun + preposition + noun
Rulefirst varies
Examplesdes pommes de terre, des chefs-d'œuvre, des arcs-en-ciel, des brosses à dents
verb + noun
Ruleverb fixed, noun by meaning
Examplesdes ouvre-boîtes, des tire-bouchons, des gratte-ciel
verb + verb, or phrase
Ruleno change
Examplesdes laissez-passer, des va-et-vient
adverb or preposition + noun
Rulenoun varies
Examplesdes avant-postes, des haut-parleurs
Nouns that are plural in French
Many are singular or uncountable in English, so verbs and adjectives must be plural too.
| French | English |
| les gens | people |
| les vacances | holiday |
| les cheveux | hair |
| les meubles | furniture |
| les bagages | luggage |
| les devoirs | homework |
| les informations | news, information |
| les conseils | advice |
| les frais | costs |
| les ciseaux | scissors |
| les lunettes | glasses |
| les environs | surroundings |
| les fiançailles | engagement |
| les obsèques | funeral |
| les mœurs | customs |
| les mathématiques | maths |
- Mes cheveux sont trop longs.My hair is too long.
- Les vacances commencent demain.The holidays start tomorrow.
- Ces meubles sont anciens.This furniture is antique.
Names, loans and abbreviations
Family names don't take -s: les Dupont, les Martin. Foreign loans now usually take a plain -s: des sandwichs, des matchs, des scénarios. Abbreviations and shortened words: des profs, des vélos, but acronyms stay as they are: des CD, des PME.
- Les Dupont arrivent ce soir.The Duponts arrive tonight.
- Nous avons regardé deux matchs.We watched two matches.
Hearing the plural
Because the -s is silent, the signal is in the words around the noun: les vs le, ces vs ce, des vs un, mes vs mon. Liaison also helps: les enfants has a /z/ sound, l'enfant does not. Verbs help as well: il parle and ils parlent sound identical, but ils ont and ils sont differ from il a and il est.
- L'enfant joue. Les enfants jouent.The child plays. The children play.
- Il est content. Ils sont contents.He's happy. They're happy.