Grammaire 2: irregular plural
Le pluriel
We have already see in a previous section the formation of plural in French. The majority of nouns and adjectives are pluralized by simply adding an –s to the singular masculine or feminine forms.
| Singulier | Pluriel |
|---|---|
| — | Add -s |
un examen facile → des examens faciles (An easy exam → Easy exams)
Un professeur sympathique ➔ Des professeurs sympathiques (A nice prof → Nice profs)
La maison verte ➔ Les maisons vertes (A green house → Green houses)
Formes irrégulières du pluriel
But there are always exceptions! There are three major exceptions to this rule:
(a) Do not add an -s to the masculine form of words ending in -s -x or -z. The masculine singular and plural forms are thus identical:
un cours sérieux → des cours sérieux (serious courses)
un homme heureux → des hommes heureux (happy men)
le nez rouge → les nez rouges (red noses)
(b) Words ending in -eau, -eu in the singular form become plural by adding an -x.
Un beau chapeau → des beaux chapeaux (beautiful hats).
Un jeu → des jeux (games)
(c) Words ending in -al, -ail in the singular form change to -aux in the masculine plural form.
Un journal → Des journaux (newspapers)
Un travail → des travaux (jobs)
Keep in mind that there are exceptions and that not all nouns follow the rules above! The table below is a summary of the irregular plural:
| Singulier | Pluriel |
|---|---|
|
-s, -x, -z |
no changes |
|
-eau, -eu |
Add -x |
| -al, -ail | Replace ending with with -aux |
