French grammar · Beginner
Regular Feminines and Plurals in French: The Default Rules and Their Limits
The default rules are short: add -e to make a noun or adjective feminine, add -s to make it plural, and add -es for both at once. Nouns already ending in -e don't change for gender, and nouns ending in -s, -x, or -z don't change for number.
Les amies de ma sœur sont arrivées avec leurs petites valises.
My sister's friends arrived with their small suitcases.
What it is
French marks gender and number on almost every word in a noun phrase: the article, the noun, and any adjective all have to agree. The good news is that the regular pattern is a single letter each time. Ami gives amie, amis, and amies, and the adjective beside it does exactly the same thing.
un ami poli, une amie polie, des amis polis, des amies polies. — a polite friend (m.), a polite friend (f.), polite friends (m.), polite friends (f.).
How to spot it
Read the article first. Le, la, un, and une tell you the gender, while les and des tell you the number. In speech those little words carry most of the information, because the endings on the noun are usually silent.
- un étudiant, une étudiante — a male student, a female student
- le chat, les chats — the cat, the cats
- une chaise verte, des chaises vertes — a green chair, green chairs
- le fils, les fils — the son, the sons (unchanged)
The -s of a plural is silent. Les chats and le chat differ only in the article when you hear them spoken.
Nouns Regular Feminines and Plurals Quick Reference
The default endings
| Base form | Feminine | Plural | Feminine plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| ami (friend) | amie | amis | amies |
| chat (cat) | chatte | chats | chattes |
| voisin (neighbour) | voisine | voisins | voisines |
| élève (pupil) | élève | élèves | élèves |
| touriste (tourist) | touriste | touristes | touristes |
| croix (cross) | — | croix | — |
| petit (small) | petite | petits | petites |
| vert (green) | verte | verts | vertes |
Common Nouns Regular Feminines and Plurals Examples in French
The regular patterns at work:
Add -e for the Feminine
- un cousin, une cousine
- a cousin (m.), a cousin (f.)
- un client, une cliente
- a customer (m.), a customer (f.)
- un Français, une Française
- a Frenchman, a Frenchwoman
- un candidat, une candidate
- a candidate (m.), a candidate (f.)
The -e makes the preceding consonant audible: client ends on a nasal vowel, cliente ends on a t.
Add -s for the Plural
- une table, des tables
- a table, tables
- le livre, les livres
- the book, the books
- mon frère, mes frères
- my brother, my brothers
- cette voiture, ces voitures
- this car, these cars
The determiner changes shape too, and that change is the part you can hear.
Nouns Already Ending in -e
- un élève, une élève
- a pupil (m.), a pupil (f.)
- un touriste, une touriste
- a tourist (m.), a tourist (f.)
- un journaliste, une journaliste
- a journalist (m.), a journalist (f.)
- un collègue, une collègue
- a colleague (m.), a colleague (f.)
Here only the article shows the gender. In the plural they behave normally: des élèves, des touristes.
Nouns That Don't Change in the Plural
- le bras, les bras
- the arm, the arms
- un choix, des choix
- a choice, choices
- le nez, les nez
- the nose, the noses
- le prix, les prix
- the price, the prices
Nouns ending in -s, -x, or -z are already carrying a final consonant, so French adds nothing.
How Agreement Works
The rules are simple in themselves. What takes practice is applying them to every word in a phrase at once.
Add -e for the Feminine
The default feminine marker is a silent -e that makes the preceding consonant audible. Voisin becomes voisine, petit becomes petite, and the difference between the two is something you can hear even though the letter itself is silent.
Ma voisine est très polie.
My neighbour is very polite.
-e turns on the last consonant.
Add -s for the Plural
One -s, silent, on the noun and on every adjective with it. Because it can't be heard, French relies on the determiner and, before a vowel, on liaison: les amis links the s and sounds like lezami.
Les livres verts sont sur l'étagère.
The green books are on the shelf.
-s on everything in the phrase.
Combine Them for the Feminine Plural
The order is fixed: gender first, then number, giving -es. Amie plus -s is amies; petite plus -s is petites. There is no case where the -s comes before the -e.
Mes cousines sont arrivées ensemble.
My cousins arrived together.
-e then -s, always in that order.
Words Already Ending in -e Take No Second One
Un élève and une élève are identical, and so are un touriste and une touriste. French will not write two e's in a row here, so the article does the whole job of showing gender.
Cette journaliste travaille pour la radio.
This journalist works for the radio.
One -e is enough.
Words Ending in -s, -x, or -z Take No Plural -s
Le bras, les bras; un choix, des choix; le nez, les nez. Adding another sibilant would be unpronounceable and unwritable, so the noun stands as it is and the article carries the number.
Les prix ont beaucoup augmenté.
Prices have gone up a lot.
Already ends in s, x, or z? Leave it alone.
Common Mistakes with Nouns Regular Feminines and Plurals
Incorrect: des élèvees — pupils
Correct: des élèves — pupils
A noun already ending in -e takes no extra -e for the feminine, so the plural is simply -es on the base form. Doubling the e produces a spelling that doesn't exist in French.
Incorrect: les prixs — the prices
Correct: les prix — the prices
Nouns ending in -s, -x, or -z are invariable in the plural. Only the article changes, which is why the singular and plural look identical on the page.
Incorrect: Les livres est intéressant. — The books are interesting.
Correct: Les livres sont intéressants. — The books are interesting.
Agreement runs through the whole sentence, not just the noun phrase. Both the verb and the adjective have to follow the plural subject.
Incorrect: Mes deux sœurs sont grands. — My two sisters are tall.
Correct: Mes deux sœurs sont grandes. — My two sisters are tall.
The adjective needs both marks: feminine for sœurs and plural for deux. Learners often supply one and forget the other, because neither is audible.
Why the Plural Is Often Invisible in Speech
Written French marks number generously and spoken French barely marks it at all. Understanding that gap explains several habits of the language.
The determiner does the work
Since the -s is silent, the difference between singular and plural is carried by le against les, un against des, ce against ces, mon against mes. Get the determiner right and a listener will follow you even if you mumble the noun.
- le chien, les chiens
- the dog, the dogs
- une pomme, des pommes
- an apple, apples
- ce garçon, ces garçons
- this boy, these boys
- ma clé, mes clés
- my key, my keys
This is why French keeps its articles where English drops them: I like apples becomes j'aime les pommes.
Liaison brings the -s back
Before a vowel, the plural -s of a determiner or adjective is pronounced as a z. That liaison is often the only audible sign of a plural, so it carries real grammatical information.
- les amis
- the friends (the s is heard)
- des enfants heureux
- happy children
- mes anciens collègues
- my former colleagues
- de grands arbres
- tall trees
Compare le petit ami with les petits amis: the liaison is what tells a listener there is more than one.
Agreement still has to be written
Because none of it is audible, agreement is a spelling discipline rather than a speaking one. Every adjective, every past participle after être, and every determiner in the phrase has to match.
- Les petites filles sont parties.
- The little girls left.
- Mes deux sœurs sont grandes.
- My two sisters are tall.
- Ces vieilles lettres sont abîmées.
- These old letters are damaged.
In Les petites filles sont parties, four separate words carry the feminine plural and none of them sounds different from its masculine singular.
Nouns Regular Feminines and Plurals FAQs
- How do you make a French noun feminine?
- By default, add -e: un voisin gives une voisine, un client gives une cliente. Nouns that already end in -e don't change at all, so only the article shows the gender: un élève, une élève.
- How do you make a French noun plural?
- Add -s and change the article: le livre gives les livres, une table gives des tables. Nouns ending in -s, -x, or -z stay as they are: le bras gives les bras, le prix gives les prix.
- What is the feminine plural in French?
- It's both markers together, in the order gender then number, giving -es. Une amie polie becomes des amies polies. Every word in the phrase takes the ending, including the adjective and any past participle after être.
- Why can't I hear the plural in spoken French?
- Because the -s is silent. Le chat and les chats differ only in the article, and that's what a listener uses. Before a vowel the -s reappears as a z through liaison, which is often the only audible clue: les amis.
- Do adjectives follow the same rules as nouns?
- Yes, for the regular pattern: petit, petite, petits, petites. Both nouns and adjectives also share the same exceptions, so an adjective ending in -s or -x is invariable in the masculine plural, as in un homme heureux, des hommes heureux.