1.8: La pluralisation

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Before putting this new vocabulary to use, let’s look at how to make words plural in French. In addition to pluralizing the noun itself, the article must ALSO be pluralized.

Le or La (or L') becomes Les

Un or Une becomes Des

In general, add –s

Le livre becomes La pomme (apple) becomes Un pupitre becomes Une table becomes

If a word ends in "x," leave it as "x" If a word ends in "s," leave it as "s."

Le prix (price) becomes La voix (voice) becomes L'atlas (atlas) becomes

L'ananas (pineapple) becomes

If a word ends in "al," generally the plural is formed by changing it to "aux"

Mon père lit le journal. Les journaux arrivent à 5 heures du matin.

My father reads the newspaper. The papers arrive at 5:00 am.

Mon frère est un étudiant international. Tous ses amis sont des étudiants internationaux.

My brother is an international student. All his friends are international students.

If a word ends in "eau," "eu," or "au," generally the plural is formed by adding "x."

Ce château est le plus grand de tous les châteaux.

This castle is the biggest amongst all the castles.

Mon neveu Luc est brun, mais mes neveux Paul et Charles sont blonds.

My nephew Luc is brown-haired, but my nephews Paul and Charles are blond.

Some common exceptions

fatal → fatals final → finals bleu → bleus travail → travaux