Grammar · Nouns & the noun phrase · A1 · 12 min
Plurals
Add -s, or change the vowel: two Latin cases, two families of plural.
Spanish, French, Portuguese and Catalan make plurals by adding -s: casa → casas, maison → maisons, casa → casas, casa → cases. Italian and Romanian change the ending instead: libro → libri, casa → case; lup → lupi, casă → case. The split is older than any of the six languages.
Spanish: -s or -es
| Singular | Plural | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| casa, café | casas, cafés | vowel: add -s |
| ciudad, papel | ciudades, papeles | consonant: add -es |
| lápiz, luz | lápices, luces | z becomes c before e |
| canción | canciones | accent drops: the stress rule now covers it |
| joven | jóvenes | accent appears to keep the stress in place |
| el lunes, la crisis | los lunes, las crisis | unstressed final -s: no change |
Portuguese: -s, and the -ão puzzle
| Singular | Plural | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| casa, café | casas, cafés | vowel: add -s |
| flor, luz, mês | flores, luzes, meses | -r, -z, stressed -s: add -es |
| homem, jardim | homens, jardins | -m becomes -ns |
| animal, papel, azul | animais, papéis, azuis | -l becomes -is: the l, now between vowels, fell (ANIMĀLĒS → animaes → animais) |
| mão, pão, leão | mãos, pães, leões | -ão: three plurals, because the singulars merged and the plurals did not (MANŌS, PĀNĒS, LEŌNĒS) |
| o lápis, o ônibus | os lápis, os ônibus | unstressed final -s: no change |
Catalan: -s, and the n that comes back
| Singular | Plural | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| gat, casa | gats, cases | add -s; final -a becomes -e- |
| amiga, plaça | amigues, places | the spelling changes to keep the sound |
| camí, mà, vi | camins, mans, vins | the -n Catalan lost at the end of the word returns before -s |
| gos, peix, braç | gossos, peixos, braços | masculine in a hissing sound: add -os |
French: written -s, spoken silence
French adds -s (sometimes -x) in writing, but it is silent: le chat [ʃa], les chats [ʃa]. The plural is heard on the article — le, la [lə, la] against les [le] — and in liaison: les‿amis [lezami]. Words in -eau and -eu take -x (bateaux, jeux); most words in -al become -aux (cheval → chevaux, journal → journaux), one of the few plurals you can hear; seven words in -ou take -x (bijoux, cailloux, choux, genoux, hiboux, joujoux, poux). Words already ending in -s, -x or -z don't change: le nez, les nez; la voix, les voix. And œil gives yeux.
Italian: change the vowel
| Singular | Plural | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -o (m.) | -i | il libro → i libri |
| -a (f.) | -e | la casa → le case |
| -e (m. or f.) | -i | il fiore → i fiori; la notte → le notti |
| -a (m., mostly Greek) | -i | il problema → i problemi |
| -ca, -ga | -che, -ghe | l'amica → le amiche; la riga → le righe |
| -co, -go | -chi, -ghi or -ci, -gi | il lago → i laghi; l'amico → gli amici; il medico → i medici |
| final stressed vowel, consonant, -i, clipped words | no change | la città → le città; il bar → i bar; la crisi → le crisi; la foto → le foto |
Romanian: change the ending, and the word
Romanian changes the ending, like Italian, but the plural ending often reaches back into the word: a -i softens or changes the consonant before it, and stressed vowels shift. Add the article and the plural grows again: cărți 'books', cărțile 'the books'.
| Singular | Plural | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| lup, pom (m.) | lupi, pomi | -i, barely voiced: it only softens the consonant [lupʲ] |
| student, brad (m.) | studenți, brazi | t → ț, d → z before -i |
| casă, fată (f.) | case, fete | -ă → -e, and stressed a → e |
| carte, floare (f.) | cărți, flori | -e → -i, with changes inside the word |
| scaun, tren (n.) | scaune, trenuri | neuter: -e or -uri |
I libri sono sul tavolo.
Los libros están en la mesa.
Les livres sont sur la table.
Os livros estão na mesa.
Cărțile sunt pe masă.
Els llibres són a la taula.
The books are on the table.
-s, silent -s, -o → -i, -s, carte → cărți (+ the article -le), -s.
Ho due amiche italiane.
Tengo dos amigas italianas.
J'ai deux amies italiennes.
Tenho duas amigas italianas.
Am două prietene italiene.
Tinc dues amigues italianes.
I have two Italian friends.
amica → amiche, amiga → amigues: the spelling keeps the c and g hard.
Mi piacciono le città antiche.
Me gustan las ciudades antiguas.
J'aime les villes anciennes.
Gosto das cidades antigas.
Îmi plac orașele vechi.
M'agraden les ciutats antigues.
I like old cities.
città does not change; only the article and adjective show the plural. Portuguese gostar de + as = das.
Ci sono dei cavalli nel campo.
Hay caballos en el campo.
Il y a des chevaux dans le champ.
Há cavalos no campo.
Sunt cai pe câmp.
Hi ha cavalls al camp.
There are horses in the field.
cheval → chevaux: Latin l turned to u before the s (see the Sound laws: l-vocalization), and scribes wrote -us as x. Romanian cal → cai loses its l before the plural -i.
Ha gli occhi verdi.
Tiene los ojos verdes.
Il a les yeux verts.
Ele tem olhos verdes.
Are ochi verzi.
Té els ulls verds.
He has green eyes.
œil → yeux: OCULUM and OCULŌS wore down differently. Romanian ochi is the same in both numbers; verde → verzi.
Guarda le foto del viaggio.
Mira las fotos del viaje.
Regarde les photos du voyage.
Olha as fotos da viagem.
Uite pozele din călătorie.
Mira les fotos del viatge.
Look at the photos from the trip.
Italian foto, short for fotografia, never changes. Romanian says poză, poze in everyday speech.