The plural of the nouns
As a general rule, nouns are pluralized by adding a -s at the end of a noun.
e.g. un jour, des jours
But there are many exceptions to this rule, mainly on the basis of the termination of a name or simply because it is an exception. Here is a summary table of the different cases of plurals:
| Terminaison | Plural | Example | Exception |
|---|---|---|---|
| -au -eau -eu |
-x | un tuyau => des tuyaux
un chameau => des chameaux un cheveu => des cheveux |
des pneus des landaus des bleus |
| -al | -aux | un cheval => des chevaux
un amiral => des amiraux un animal => des animaux |
des festivals des chacals des bals des carnavals des récitals |
| -ail | -ails | un rail => des rails
un détail => des détails un portail => des portails un gouvernail => des gouvernails |
des coraux des travaux des vitraux des baux |
| -ou | -ous | un trou => des trous
un bisou => des bisous un clou => des clous un chouchou => des chouchous |
des bijoux des choux des genoux des cailloux des hiboux des joujoux des poux |
Other irregular cases of plurals
Nouns ending in -s, -x and -z do not take the plural form.
le bois => des bois
un pas => des pas
une voix => des voix
une croix => des croix
un gaz => des gaz
un nez => des nez
Some nouns change completely when they are put in the plural. In this case, it is necessary to know the spelling of their plural:
un monsieur => des messieurs
un œil => des yeux
A remark on "un œil, des yeux", is the only case where all the letters are different between the singular and the plural; the letter œ being different from letter e.
Other nouns exist either only in the singular (e.g. le bétail (cattle)) or in the plural. (e.g.: les funérailles, les mœurs, les vivres, les alentours, les décombres, les arrhes).
- In the general case, a -s is added to indicate the plural mark.
- Nouns in -au, eu and -eau take a -x in their plural.
- Nouns in -al have their plural in -aux.
- Nouns in -ail have their plural in -ails with lots of exceptions.
- Nouns in -ou have their plural in -ous with the exception of bijoux, choux, genoux, cailloux, joujoux, hiboux and poux.
- Nouns in -s, -x and -z don't have any plural marker.