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Read on to:
- See how simple it is to make the plural form of most French nouns
- Learn how to predict the plural form of irregular French nouns with just a few simple rules
- Find out how to get a 14-day free trial of IMMERSE’s award-winning French conversation app with unlimited access to live classes, community events, games, and AI-powered conversation practice
Are you wondering how to get the right plural form of French nouns?
When you learn a new noun in French, you usually learn the singular form, like le raisin (the grape). But in an actual conversation, you’ll need to know how to talk about more than one grape, unless you’re not very hungry.
In general, you can make a plural noun in French by adding the letter s, just like in English. “The grapes” is les raisins. Simple!
But have you noticed that some French plurals are a little strange? Take le cheval (the horse), for instance. The plural of this one is les chevaux (the horses).
Sometimes French nouns take the letters ux on the end when they change to plural, and there may be other spelling changes too (like the disappearing l when cheval changes to chevaux).
Read on to learn more and become a master of French plural nouns.
Plural nouns in French
Most French plural nouns end in "s"
In French, you can pluralize most nouns simply by adding the letter s. This is true for masculine and feminine nouns.
Here are a few examples:
la chaise ➞ les chaises (the chairs)
la maison ➞ les maisons (the houses)
le livre ➞ les livres (the books)
le poisson ➞ les poissons (the fish)
When French plural nouns get tricky
There are a few situations when you can’t simply use an s to make the plural in French, though:
- When the noun ends in au, eu, or eau
- When the noun ends in al
- When the noun already ends in s, x, or z
Fortunately though, there is a simple rule for each of these:
- In most cases when the noun ends in au, eu, or eau - add x.
For example:
le jeu ➞ les jeux (the games)
le château ➞ les châteaux (the castles)
- In most cases when the noun ends in al - change the al to aux.
For example:
le cheval ➞ les chevaux (the horses)
le journal ➞ les journaux (the newspapers)
- When the noun already ends in s, x, or z - don’t change the noun at all.
For example:
la souris ➞ les souris (the mice)
le nez ➞ les nez (the noses)
Note: Just as English has some unexpected plurals like woman ➞ women, French also has a couple of plurals that just need to be memorized.
Note: Just as English has some unexpected plurals like woman ➞ women, French also has a couple of plurals that just need to be memorized.
Here are a few common examples:
monsieur ➞ messieurs (gentlemen)
l’oeil ➞ lesyeux (the eyes)
Don’t stop here! Read on for extra tips about making French plurals…
Articles
As you may have noticed in the examples, French articles become plural, too. Both the feminine article la and the masculine article le change to les when your noun is plural.
Tip: Keep a close eye on the article for nouns that end in s, x, or z, because that article change is the only thing that shows whether they’re singular or plural.
Verbs
If your plural noun is the subject of the sentence, remember to use the right verb form too.
For instance, to say “The book is on the shelf,” you would say:
Le livre est sur l'étagère.
To say “The books are on the shelf” though, you need to change the verb:
Les livres sont sur l'étagère.
Practice makes perfect!
If you’re learning French, interacting with other people is the best way to practice. There’s no better way to get comfortable with French pronunciation and get skilled at using singular and plural nouns than to practice in a conversation.
So go hang out with some French speakers, or…
Come practice with us in IMMERSE!
IMMERSE gives you unlimited access to live virtual reality French classes, conversation events, AI practice, and more in over 40 interactive scenes. Make friends, gain confidence and speak French sooner with a 14-day free trial - accessible through your Mac or PC browser, or check out our app for Quest headsets.
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