Nouns
Nouns
- In French, nouns have two genders (masculine and feminine) attached to them and knowing them is important to better understand and use the language as it affects a lot of it.
The rules of plural nouns
- In general when nouns become plural, an –s is added to the end of words.
- Ex. la porte → les portes (the doors)
- Singular nouns that end with –s –x and –z do not change when they become plural.
- Ex. le prix → les prix (the prices)
- Singular nouns that end with –eau –eu and –au become plural by adding –x at the end.
- Ex. le cheveu → les cheveux (the hair)
- However, there are common exceptions which include bleu (blue) and pneu (tire) where an –s is added on instead.
- Singular nouns that end with –al become plural by changing into –aux.
- Ex. l’animal → les animaux (the animals)
- However, there are common exceptions which include festival (festival) and carnaval (carnival) where an –s is added on instead.
- Singular nouns that end with –ail become plural by adding on an –s
- Ex. Le detail → Les détails (the details)
- However, there are common exceptions which include travail (work) which change into –aux.
- Singular nouns that end with –ou become plural by adding –s
- Ex. Le sou → Les sous (The pennies (not to be confused with the preposition sous))
- However, there are common exceptions which include bijou (jewelry), chou (cabbage), genou (knee) and hibou (owl) where an –x is added on instead.
No rule plural nouns
- It is possible that some nouns don’t follow the rules mentioned earlier and have unique spellings of their own where the learner has to remember them by heart.
- Common examples include the following:
- un œil → des yeux (eyes)
- Monsieur → Messieurs
- Madame → Mesdames
- Mademoiselle → Mesdemoiselles
