Making Nouns Plural

Once you know a noun's gender, the next step is learning how to make it plural. Spanish pluralisation follows clear rules based on the ending of the word, but there are a few important patterns and exceptions to be aware of.

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The Two Main Rules

Rule 1: Nouns Ending in a Vowel — Add -s

If a noun ends in an unstressed vowel (a, e, i, o, u), simply add -s.

Singular	Plural	Meaning
el libro	los libros	the book(s)
la casa	las casas	the house(s)
el estudiante	los estudiantes	the student(s)
la noche	las noches	the night(s)
el coche	los coches	the car(s)
la madre	las madres	the mother(s)

Rule 2: Nouns Ending in a Consonant — Add -es

If a noun ends in a consonant (including -l, -r, -n, -d, -s, -z, -j), add -es.

Singular	Plural	Meaning
el color	los colores	the colour(s)
la ciudad	las ciudades	the city/cities
el profesor	los profesores	the teacher(s)
el mes	los meses	the month(s)
la canción	las canciones	the song(s)
el rey	los reyes	the king(s)

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Special Cases

Words Ending in -z: Change to -ces

When a noun ends in -z, the -z changes to -c before adding -es.

Singular	Plural	Meaning
el lápiz	los lápices	the pencil(s)
la vez	las veces	the time(s) (occurrence)
el pez	los peces	the fish (plural)
la luz	las luces	the light(s)
la voz	las voces	the voice(s)
la nariz	las narices	the nose(s)
el juez	los jueces	the judge(s)
la cruz	las cruces	the cross(es)

Why the change? In Spanish spelling, the letter z is never followed by e or i. Instead, c is used before these vowels to preserve the same /s/ or /th/ sound.

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Accent Mark Changes

When a word gains or loses a syllable in the plural, the written accent mark may need to be added or removed to keep the stress on the correct syllable.

Accents That Disappear in the Plural

Singular	Plural	Rule
la canción	las canciones	Accent no longer needed — stress naturally falls on the correct syllable
el autobús	los autobuses	Same pattern
el inglés	los ingleses	Same pattern
el francés	los franceses	Same pattern
el alemán	los alemanes	Same pattern

Accents That Appear in the Plural

Singular	Plural	Rule
el joven	los jóvenes	Accent needed to maintain original stress
el examen	los exámenes	Accent needed to maintain original stress
el origen	los orígenes	Accent needed to maintain original stress

Tip: This is a tricky area. The rule is that Spanish stress rules determine whether a written accent is needed. If the word is stressed on the second-to-last syllable and ends in -n, -s, or a vowel, no accent is written. Otherwise, an accent is required.

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Words Ending in a Stressed Vowel

Nouns ending in a stressed vowel (á, é, í, ó, ú) typically add -es in formal usage, but -s is increasingly common in everyday speech.