Overview of Plurals
 GENERAL RULE:
When you make a noun plural, you have to make its article plural.
When you make an article plural, you have to make the noun plural.
This is just like in English.
o For example:
We can say
cookies.
We cannot say
cookie.
I have a cookie
or
I have a cookies or
I have some/several
I have some/several
 ARTICLES:
There are 2 types of articles that we have to notice when forming
plurals. There are indefinite articles and definite articles. These are
not interchangeable.
o Indefinite articles are used with nouns to signal gender and
number. There are 3 indefinite articles and they are the English
equivalent of a, an, or some.
Singular
(a or an)
Plural
(some or
several)
un
Masculine
(pronounced like uhn)
une
Feminine
(pronounced like ooohn)
Des
(pronounced like day)
Des
(pronounced like day)
o Definite articles also signal gender and number. There are 4 in
French, and they all mean the. They are le, la, l’ and les.
Singular
Plural
Masculine
With a noun
that begins with
a consonant
Feminine
With a noun that
begins with a
consonant
Either gender
With a noun
that begins
with a vowel
le livre
la fenêtre
l’ami
Les livres
Les livres
Les amis
DeMado, John. "Synthèse De Grammaire." Bien Dit!: Holt French 1, 1A, and 1B. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart
and Winston, 2008. R22. Print.
 NOUNS:
o Typically, to make a noun plural, add an “s” at the end of the
word, much like in English. This “s” is often silent when spoken.
 For example:
la chaise -> les chaises
o There are some endings that must be treated differently:
 There is no change to nouns that end in –s or –x.
Example: le bus -> les bus le fax -> les fax
 No change to nouns that are abbreviations
Example: le CD -> les CD
 Add –x to nouns that end in –eau or –eu
Example: le bureau -> les bureaux
le jeu -> les jeux
 Replace –al with –aux in nouns that end with –al
Example: le journal -> les journaux
DeMado, John. "Synthèse De Grammaire." Bien Dit!: Holt French 1, 1A, and 1B. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart
and Winston, 2008. R22. Print.