Plural Nouns
French: AQA A Level, topic 12.1.4
Plural
To make most masculine nouns plural all you need to do is add 's'. But there are some irregular nouns that have different endings.
Adding 's'
- For most masculine nouns, all you need to do to make them plural is add an 's'.
- Le chien 🐕 → Les chiens.
- Le bagage → Les bagages.
- Le conseil → Les conseils.
- Le lit 🛏️ → Les lits.
Nouns ending in 'ail' or 'al'
- Nouns that end in 'ail' or 'al' change to 'aux'.
- Le travail → Les travaux.
- Le journal → Les journaux.
Nouns ending in 'eau, ou, eu'
- Nouns that end in 'eau' change to 'eaux'.
- Nouns that end in 'ou' change to 'oux'.
- Nouns that end in 'eu' change to 'eux'.
- Un gâteau → des gâteaux.
- Un bijou → des bijoux.
- Un jeu → des jeux.
Feminine Plural
For almost all feminine nouns, you from the plural by adding an 's'.
Add an 's'
- La maison 🏠 → Les maisons.
- La journée → Les journées.
- La série → Les séries.
- La matière → Les matières.
- La confiture → Les confitures.
Irregular Plurals
Some words in French do not change from singular to plural. They are irregular. Words that already end in 's', 'x' or 'z' do not change.
Ending in 's', 'x' or 'z'
- Le prix → Les prix - the price → the prices.
- Le bus → Les bus - the bus → the bus.
- Le virus → Les virus - the virus → the viruses.
- La voix → Les voix - the voice → the voices.
- Le gaz → Les gaz - the gas → the gases.
Irregular plurals
- Some nouns are just irregular, there are no patterns to learn their plural do here they are:
- Un œil → Des yeux 👀 - an eye → eyes.
- Monsieur → Messieurs - sir → sirs.
- Madame → Mesdames - mrs → ladies.
- Mademoiselle → Mesdemoiselles - miss → ladies
Test yourself on Plural Nouns
What is the plural for 'jewels' (bijou) in French?
What is the plural for 'bed' (lit) in French?
What is the plural of 'une voiture' in French?
The word 'session' in French is 'la séance', what is the plural of 'la séance'?
The word for 'nut' in French is 'la noix'. What is the plural of 'la noix'?