A1
Plurals
How Spanish forms plurals, the spelling changes some endings require, and why the written accent sometimes disappears.
A noun ending in a vowel adds -s. One ending in a consonant adds -es.
| el libro → los libros | |
| la mesa → las mesas | |
| la ciudad → las ciudades | |
| el profesor → los profesores |
Tengo dos hermanos.
I-have two brothers
I have two brothers.
They are audible, which changes everything
French writes plurals it does not pronounce; Spanish says all of them. The -s is carried by the noun, the article and every adjective, so the number is repeated three or four times in a phrase.
las casas blancas
the (f.pl.) houses white (f.pl.)
the white houses
Three words, three plural endings, and all three are heard.
Spelling changes
A final -z becomes -c: el lápiz → los lápices. This is a spelling rule about how Spanish writes the same sound, not a change in pronunciation.
los lápizes
los lápices
Spanish does not write ze. The z becomes c before e or i, which is why vez gives veces and feliz gives felices.
The accent can disappear
If the singular carries a written accent on the last syllable, the plural often loses it, because the stress no longer needs marking.
| la canción → las canciones | |
| el inglés → los ingleses | |
| el jardín → los jardines |
Words already ending in -s
If the last syllable is unstressed, nothing changes and only the article shows the number: el lunes → los lunes, la crisis → las crisis.
los lunes
the (pl.) Mondays
Mondays