Making Nouns Plural

After learning about noun gender, the next essential concept is number — knowing how to form the plural of French nouns. While the most common rule is simply adding an -s, French has several important exceptions and special patterns that you need to know.

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The Basic Rule: Add -s

For the vast majority of French nouns, the plural is formed by adding -s to the singular form. This is the same principle as English.

Singular	Plural	English
le chat	les chats	the cat(s)
la maison	les maisons	the house(s)
un livre	des livres	a book / books
une fleur	des fleurs	a flower / flowers
le garçon	les garçons	the boy(s)

Important pronunciation note: The final -s is silent in French. Chat and chats are pronounced identically — "shah." The only way to tell singular from plural in spoken French is usually through the article: le chat (singular) vs les chats (plural). This is why articles are so important in French.

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