Plural in Spanish

Grammar: Plural in Spanish

Plural in Spanish |
Plural en español

In Spanish (as well as in English), nouns have singular and plural. All you need to do is remember a few simple rules.

First, let’s remember two basic rules:

If a word ends with a vowel, you add an “s”:

  • la ventana (window) – las ventanas (windows)
  • el coche (car) – los coches (cars)
  • el tiempo (time) – los tiempos (times)

If a word ends with a consonant, you add “es”:

  • el ordenador (computer) – los ordenadores (computers)
  • el árbol (tree) – los arboles (trees)
  • la lección (lesson) – las lecciónes (lessons)

Attention!
Articles and adjectives change depending on the number and gender

The plural requires the articles “los” for the masculine gender and “las” for the feminine gender. Adjectives form the plural according to the same rule as nouns:

  • la ventana nueva (new window) –> las ventanas nuevas (new windows)
  • la lección fácil (easy lesson) –> las lecciónes faciles (easy lessons)

If a noun ends in -s or -х and the stress does not fall on the last syllable, then it does not change in plural:

  • el martes (Tuesday) – los martes (Tuesdays)
  • la crisis (crisis) – las crisis (crises)
  • el fax (fax) – los fax (faxes)

What happens to words in which the stress falls on the last syllable? They form the plural as usual:

  • el inglés (Englishman) – los ingleses (the English)
  • el francés (Frenchman) – los franceses (the French)

If a noun ends in -ú or -í, the plural is formed either by adding the ending “es” or “s”:

  • el jabalí (boar) – los jabalís/los jabalíes (boars)
  • el bambú (bamboo) – los bambús/los bambúes (bamboos)

Nouns ending in -z, in plural usually end in “es”. Careful! The letter “z” changes to “c” as per the Spanish spelling rules:

  • el pez (fish) – los peces (fish)
  • una vez (once) – muchas veces (many times)

Foreign words form the plural using “s” or “es”:

  • el сlub (club) – los clubs/los clubes (clubs)
  • el chat (chat) – los chats (chat rooms)

Some nouns are used only in singular, even if they denote the plural:

  • el dinero (money)
  • la gente (people)

See list of lessons on Spanish grammar