Plural forms of nouns

Kurz erklärt

Most French nouns form the plural by adding -s. This final -s is normally silent, so singular and plural nouns often sound the same. The surrounding sentence usually makes the number clear.

Bildung

singular noun + -s: un livre → des livres; nouns ending in -s, -x, or -z do not change; many nouns ending in -au or -eau take -x

Verwendung

• Use the plural form when referring to more than one person, animal, place, or thing.
• Keep nouns ending in -s, -x, or -z unchanged in writing: un prix → des prix.
• Learn frequent irregular plurals individually, such as un animal → des animaux and un œil → des yeux.

Beispiele

• J’ai deux chats. — I have two cats.
• Les prix sont élevés. — The prices are high.
• Nous visitons de beaux châteaux. — We are visiting beautiful castles.
• Ces animaux vivent ici. — These animals live here.

Typischer Fehler

❌ deux animal

✅ deux animaux

Do not leave a countable noun singular after a number greater than one. Animal has the irregular plural animaux.

Merke

Add -s in most cases, but do not pronounce it. Watch for common plurals in -x.