French plural: add s, then spot the x and aux

The French plural looks easy on paper: most nouns just add an -s. The catch is that you do not say that -s, so your ear has to listen for something else. This page gives the rule, the -x and -aux endings with the exceptions the Québec language office (OQLF) lists, the nouns that never change, and vous, the second person plural. For the little words that sit in front of the noun, see French articles and noun gender. For the plural of adjectives, see Good in French. For the pronoun vous in context, see French pronouns.

What is the plural form in French?

The plural form in French is the singular plus an -s for most nouns. The Académie française says the s is the ordinary mark of the plural of nouns and adjectives [1]. The article changes too: the University of Minnesota page pairs le croissant with les croissants [3], and the University of Texas page uses des tatous as the plural of un tatou [2].

Source for the pattern: [2][3]. The article is the part you can hear change, as the next section shows.

Is the s silent in French plural words?

Yes, the plural -s is not pronounced [2][3]. The Académie française says a final s is generally silent, with a few exceptions such as as and oasis [1]. So livre and livres sound the same.

What you hear is the article. The University of Minnesota page says the article, not the noun, changes pronunciation to show a plural: croissant and croissants sound alike, but le is different from les [3]. The University of Texas page adds that in speech the determiner is often the only sign of number [2]. Try it: listen to le chat and then les chats.

There is one more sound. Before a vowel or a silent h, the s of les or des can link to the next word as a [z]: the Académie gives les hommes [1]. The OQLF calls this [z] “la marque du pluriel à l’oral”, the plural mark in speech, in les oiseaux and des oiseaux [4]. It sits on the article, not on the noun.

What are the plural words in French that end in -x?

All nouns ending in -eau, and most in -au and -eu, take an x. The OQLF says most nouns ending in -au and -eu, and all nouns ending in -eau, take an x in the plural [5]. Its examples include fléaux, noyaux, cheveux, vœux, rideaux and châteaux [5]. Hear le château, le bateau, le gâteau, le tableau and le jeu, then add the x: châteaux, bateaux, gâteaux, tableaux, jeux. Like the s, the x is not pronounced [3].

The OQLF lists the exceptions, which take -s instead [5]:

So it is les pneus and des bleus, not pneux or bleux [5].

How do you make the plural of French words ending in -al?

Most nouns ending in -al change to -aux. The OQLF says most nouns in -al form the plural in -aux, with the examples bocaux, maux and journaux [6]. Hear le journal, and see le cheval in animals in French for chevaux.

The OQLF also lists the exceptions that take -als instead of -aux: aval, bal, cal, cantal, caracal, carnaval, cérémonial, chacal, choral, copal, corral, emmental, festival, gavial, gayal, mescal, mistral, narval, nopal, pal, pascal, quetzal, récital, régal, rial, rorqual, serval and sisal, plus the rare musical noun final [6]. You will meet bal and festival most often.

A few nouns allow both. The OQLF says étal and idéal can take -aux or -als, and santal and val have a regular plural in -als but appear in -aux in some place names and set expressions [6].

Which French words do not change in the plural?

Nouns that already end in -s, -x or -z stay the same. The University of Texas page says nouns ending in -s, -x or -z do not change in the plural [2], and the University of Minnesota page gives le mois and les mois, la voix and les voix, le riz and les riz [3]. The OQLF applies the same limit to borrowed words: they take an s unless they end in s, x or z, as in des médias and des raviolis [7].

Because the noun does not change, only the article shows the number: le nez and les nez differ by one word [2].

What is the plural of you in French?

Tu is the second person singular, and vous is the second person plural. Larousse defines tutoyer as using the second person singular to address someone, as opposed to vouvoyer [8]. It defines vouvoyer as addressing someone using the second person plural [9]. So vous is the form you use for several people. Hear vous, and compare tu.

Larousse’s definition of vouvoyer says “à quelqu’un”, to someone, so vous is not only for groups [9]. For the whole pronoun table, see French pronouns. For the possessive words that go with it, see possessive adjectives.

Common mistakes

• Saying the -s. The plural -s is silent [1][2][3]. Let the article carry the plural.
• Writing châteaus or journals. Nouns in -eau take x, and most nouns in -al take -aux [5][6].
• Writing festivaux or baux. Festival and bal are on the OQLF list of -al nouns that take -als: festivals, bals [6].
• Writing pneux or bleux. Bleu, émeu, pneu and lieu the fish take -eus [5].
• Adding another s to mois, voix or nez. Nouns ending in -s, -x or -z do not change [2][3].
• Using tu for a group. Vous is the second person plural [9].

Sources