A1
Plurals you cannot hear
How French forms plurals in writing, why they are usually inaudible, and the irregular endings worth knowing at A1.
Most French nouns add -s in the plural. Almost none of them sound any different.
le livre / les livres
the book / the books
the book / the books
Livre and livres are pronounced identically. What you hear is le against les — so in speech the article carries the entire distinction, and mishearing it loses the number.
This is why the article matters so much
English marks plurality on the noun and can drop the article. French marks it on the article and can barely hear it on the noun. The two languages put the information in opposite places.
J’ai acheté des pommes.
I-have bought some apples
I bought some apples.
Endings that do something else
| -s, -x, -z | unchanged — le fils / les fils |
| -eau | add -x — le bureau / les bureaux |
| -al | becomes -aux — le journal / les journaux |
les animaux
the animals
the animals
Animal → animaux is worth learning early; it turns up constantly and looks nothing like its singular.
Where the plural does become audible
Before a vowel, the -s of les, des and mes links onto the next word — the liaison. That z-sound is often the only signal that a noun is plural.
les amis
the friends
the friends
Said lay-zami. Compare l’ami, said lami. One consonant separates singular from plural, and it belongs to neither word on the page.
J’ai deux livre.
J’ai deux livres.
The noun still takes its -s after a number, even though nothing changes in the sound. French writes agreement it does not pronounce, and the spelling is not optional.