Plural of Nouns

Spanish: El plural de los sustantivos

Level: A1 Beginner

Category: nouns

Explanation

In Spanish, forming the plural of nouns is fairly simple and follows clear rules. The most important rule depends on the last letter of the word. If a noun ends in a vowel (a, e, i, o, u), we simply add -s at the end. For example, "casa" (house) becomes "casas" and "coche" (car) becomes "coches". If the noun ends in a consonant, we add -es to form the plural. For example, "hotel" becomes "hoteles" and "ciudad" (city) becomes "ciudades". This rule also applies to words ending in -y, which is treated as a consonant for this purpose, like "rey" (king) which becomes "reyes". There are some important special cases. Words ending in -z change the z to c before adding -es: "luz" (light) becomes "luces" and "lápiz" (pencil) becomes "lápices". Also, remember that the article must change to plural too: "el" becomes "los" and "la" becomes "las". Learning plurals is essential because you will use them constantly when talking about multiple things: when you order two coffees at a café, when you buy apples at the market, or when you talk about the rooms of a hotel.

Examples

• Quiero dos cafés, por favor. - I want two coffees, please.
• Las mesas están ocupadas. - The tables are occupied.
• Necesito las llaves de la habitación. - I need the keys to the room.
• El hotel tiene cien habitaciones. - The hotel has one hundred rooms.
• Compro tres manzanas y dos peras. - I buy three apples and two pears.