Plural nouns

A1

Grammar path · Lesson 2 of 86 · Stage A1 · Nouns and articles

You need the plural whenever you talk about more than one person or thing: counting, listing, or making general statements about a group. The core rule is simple: nouns ending in a vowel add -s (casa → casas), and nouns ending in a consonant add -es (hotel → hoteles). A few details matter. A final -z becomes -ces (luz → luces), and words ending in an unstressed -s stay the same (el lunes → los lunes). Learners often mix up plural with noun gender. The plural never changes gender: la casa becomes las casas, and el libro becomes los libros.

Practise this lesson · 10 sentences

Form

Ends in a vowelsustantivo en vocal + -s
Compré tres manzanas en el mercado.I bought three apples at the market.
Ends in a consonantsustantivo en consonante + -es
En mi calle hay dos hoteles.There are two hotels on my street.
Ends in -zsustantivo en -z → -ces
Ya apagué las luces.I already turned off the lights.
Ends in unstressed -ssustantivo en -s átona = sin cambio
Trabajo todos los lunes.I work every Monday.

When to use it

Counting and asking how many

After any number from two up and after cuántos or cuántas, the noun is always plural.

¿Cuántos hermanos tienes?How many siblings do you have?
Necesito cuatro sillas para la cocina.I need four chairs for the kitchen.

Talking about a whole category

To talk about a type of thing in general, Spanish uses the definite article plus a plural noun, where English often uses a bare plural.

Me encantan los perros.I love dogs.
Los jóvenes usan mucho el celular.Young people use their cell phones a lot.

Mixed groups of males and females

A group that includes both males and females takes the masculine plural, so padres means parents and niños means children in general.

Mis padres viven en Bogotá.My parents live in Bogotá.
Los niños están jugando en el parque.The children are playing in the park.

Spelling rules

Rule 1

Ending in a vowel: add -s

libro → libroscasa → casascafé → cafés

Rule 2

Ending in a consonant: add -es

ciudad → ciudadespapel → papelesmes → meses

Rule 3

Ending in -z: change it to -ces

lápiz → lápicesvez → vecesluz → luces

Rule 4

The written accent can disappear or appear to keep the stress

canción → cancionesinglés → inglesesjoven → jóvenesexamen → exámenes

Signal words

loslasunosunasmuchosvariosdos

Don't confuse it with

Noun gender: masculine and feminine

Making a noun plural never changes its gender. You only switch the article to match: el becomes los, la becomes las, un becomes unos, una becomes unas. The one gender rule specific to plurals is that mixed groups take the masculine form.

Frequently asked questions

What is the plural of lápiz?

It is lápices. A final -z changes to c before adding -es, as in vez → veces and luz → luces.

Why does canción lose its accent in canciones?

Adding -es creates an extra syllable, so the stress falls in the right place naturally and the written accent is no longer needed. The opposite happens with joven, which gains an accent in jóvenes.

Are there nouns that do not change in the plural?

Yes. Words ending in -s that are not stressed on the last syllable stay the same, and only the article changes: el lunes becomes los lunes, and la crisis becomes las crisis.

Does los niños only mean boys?

No. The masculine plural covers mixed groups, so los niños usually means children in general. Las niñas is used only when every child in the group is a girl.

Is la gente singular or plural?

La gente is grammatically singular and takes a singular verb, as in la gente es amable, even though it refers to many people.

More in Nouns and articles

Noun gender: masculine and feminineA1Definite articles: el, la, los, lasA1Indefinite articles: un, una, unos, unasA1
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