Plurals
Spanish Grammar 1
Chapter 3 · Plurals
🔢 Plurals — El plural
Making a Spanish noun plural is simple at heart: add -s after a vowel and -es after a consonant. The complications are small and logical: a z turns into c, a written accent appears or disappears so that the stress stays where it was, and some words end in -s already and do not change at all. This chapter also covers the nouns that exist mostly in the plural (las gafas) and the rule that a group of men and women is masculine plural (los padres).
The basic rule: -s or -es
| Singular ends in… | Plural | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| an unstressed vowel (a, e, i, o, u) | add -s | la casa → las casas · el libro → los libros · el coche → los coches · la noche → las noches |
| a stressed -á, -é, -ó | add -s | el sofá → los sofás · el café → los cafés · el papá → los papás · la mamá → las mamás |
| a stressed -í, -ú | add -es (careful writing); -s is common in speech | el rubí → los rubíes · el tabú → los tabúes · el menú → los menús |
| a consonant | add -es | la ciudad → las ciudades · el color → los colores · el papel → los papeles · la mujer → las mujeres · la pared → las paredes |
| -y | add -es | la ley → las leyes (law) · el rey → los reyes (king) |
Spelling changes: z → c
Spanish does not write ze or zi in most words, so a final -z becomes -c- before the -es. The sound stays the same (th in Spain, s in Latin America).
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| el lápiz | los lápices | pencil |
| la luz | las luces | light |
| la voz | las voces | voice |
| la vez | las veces | time, occasion |
| el pez | los peces | fish |
| la nariz | las narices | nose |
| la actriz | las actrices | actress |
Accents added and lost: the stress stays put
Adding -es adds a syllable, so the stress can end up in a position that no longer follows the rules from Spanish Grammar 1 1. The stress stays on the same syllable, and the written accent is added or removed to show it.
| What happens | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| accent lost (the stress is now second-to-last, the normal place) | la canción · el camión · el jardín · el autobús · el inglés | las canciones · los camiones · los jardines · los autobuses · los ingleses |
| accent added (the stress is now third-to-last, which is always written) | el joven · el examen · el origen · la imagen · el resumen | los jóvenes · los exámenes · los orígenes · las imágenes · los resúmenes |
| accent unchanged (it was already third-to-last or stays written) | el árbol · la cárcel · el móvil | los árboles · las cárceles · los móviles |
Words that do not change
A word that already ends in -s (or -x) with an unstressed last syllable has the same form in the plural. Only the article and the context show the number.
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| el lunes, el martes, el viernes | los lunes, los martes, los viernes | Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays |
| la crisis · la tesis · la dosis | las crisis · las tesis · las dosis | crisis, thesis, dose |
| el análisis · el virus · el atlas | los análisis · los virus · los atlas | analysis, virus, atlas |
| el paraguas | los paraguas | umbrella (para + aguas) |
| el cumpleaños | los cumpleaños | birthday |
| el sacapuntas · el abrelatas · el lavaplatos | los sacapuntas · los abrelatas · los lavaplatos | pencil sharpener, tin opener, dishwasher |
Nouns used mostly in the plural
Some things are plural in Spanish, even when English uses a singular, or sometimes the other way round. Use the plural form even for one object:
| Spanish | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| las gafas | glasses (spectacles) | unas gafas = a pair of glasses |
| las tijeras | scissors | |
| los pantalones | trousers | el pantalón is also heard, especially in Latin America |
| las vacaciones | holidays, vacation | always plural |
| las afueras | outskirts | |
| los alrededores | surroundings | |
| las gracias | thanks | dar las gracias = to say thank you |
| los celos | jealousy | plural for the feeling |
Mixed groups: the masculine plural
When a group contains men and women, or when the sex is not stated, Spanish uses the masculine plural. It is the standard way to say a family relation as a pair:
| Masculine plural | Means |
|---|---|
| los padres | the parents (father and mother) |
| los hermanos | brothers and sisters, siblings |
| los hijos | sons and daughters, children |
| los abuelos | grandparents |
| los tíos | uncle and aunt, uncles and aunts |
| los reyes | the king and queen |
| los niños | the children (boys, or boys and girls) |
| los españoles | the Spanish (men, or men and women) |
Use the feminine plural only when the whole group is female: las madres, las hermanas, las niñas. In formal speeches you will sometimes hear both forms spelled out (los niños y las niñas), but the masculine plural alone is normal in everyday Spanish.
🗣️ In Use — En situación
Read the exchanges aloud and notice each plural.
① Shopping
② Family
③ Days of the week
📋 Quick Reference — Resumen
| Topic | Summary |
|---|---|
| vowel | add -s: casa → casas; stressed -á, -é, -ó also -s |
| consonant | add -es: ciudad → ciudades; -y → -yes |
| -z | → -ces: lápiz → lápices |
| accent lost | stressed last syllable becomes second-to-last: canción → canciones |
| accent added | stress now third-to-last: joven → jóvenes, examen → exámenes |
| no change | unstressed -s / -x: lunes, crisis, paraguas, cumpleaños; surnames |
| stressed -s | takes -es: país → países, autobús → autobuses |
| plural only | las gafas, las tijeras, los pantalones, las vacaciones |
| mixed groups | masculine plural: los padres, los hermanos, los reyes |
✏️ Try It Yourself — Ejercicios
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. Make plural: casa, libro, coche, café, sofá.
Show answer
casas · libros · coches · cafés · sofás. (Vowel, stressed or not, takes -s.)
2. Make plural: ciudad, color, papel, mujer, ley.
Show answer
ciudades · colores · papeles · mujeres · leyes.
3. Make plural: lápiz, luz, voz, vez, pez.
Show answer
lápices · luces · voces · veces · peces. (z becomes c before -es.)
4. Make plural, and say what happens to the accent: canción, camión, autobús, inglés.
Show answer
canciones · camiones · autobuses · ingleses. The written accent disappears, because the stress is now on the second-to-last syllable.
5. Make plural, and say what happens to the accent: joven, examen, origen, imagen.
Show answer
jóvenes · exámenes · orígenes · imágenes. An accent appears so that the stress stays on the same syllable.
6. Which do not change in the plural? lunes, país, crisis, paraguas, mes, cumpleaños.
Show answer
lunes, crisis, paraguas, cumpleaños. país and mes are stressed on the last syllable, so they become países and meses.
7. Say in Spanish: "I need glasses and scissors."
Show answer
Necesito gafas y tijeras. (Both words are plural in Spanish.)
8. What does los padres mean? And los reyes? Which word would you use for a group of only women, such as the daughters?
Show answer
los padres = the parents (father and mother); los reyes = the king and queen. For a female group use the feminine plural: las hijas.
9. Correct the mistakes: los lápizes · las canciónes · los ciudads · los paraguases.
Show answer
los lápices (z → c) · las canciones (accent lost) · las ciudades (ciudad is feminine and takes -es) · los paraguas (no change).
10. Say the plural of the family surname Martínez in "the Martínez family", and explain the rule.
Show answer
los Martínez. Surnames do not take a plural ending in Spanish.