How to form the plural of Spanish nouns?

The plural for many Spanish nounsNo definition set for nounsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. is formed by adding -s or -es to the singular form, similar to English. Let’s take a look at the following examples:

• casa ("house") - casas ("houses")

• dolor ("pain") - dolores ("pain")

If you have some experience in language learning, though, you might know there are some exceptions, but don’t worry. We’ll also cover these in this post, like the case of nouns that have two plural forms or those that don’t change form. Keep reading, and you will become an expert in Spanish plural nouns!

Some nouns form their plural simply by adding -s. Let’s start from the beginning and explore the various cases:

• If a Spanish noun ends in a vowelNo definition set for vowelLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., form the plural by adding -s:

  Endings	Singular	Translation	Plural	Translation
  a, á	la casa	the house	las casas	the houses
  	la mamá	the mother	las mamás	the mothers
  e, é	la calle	the street	las calles	the streets
  	el café	the café	los cafés	the cafés
  i	el taxi	the taxis	los taxis	the taxis
  o, ó	el libro	the book	los libros	the books
  	el plató	the set	los platós	the sets
  u	el espíritu	the spirit	los espíritus	the spirits

  Exception!

  An exception to this rule is nouns ending in -í and -ú, both with an accent mark. Make sure you continue reading to find out about these exceptional endings.

Some nouns form their plural by adding -es. We’ve just seen the cases of the plural of nouns that end in a vowel, but what happens if a noun ends in a consonantNo definition set for consonantLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.? For most of these cases, the plural is formed by adding -es. Let’s take a look at some examples:

• Nouns ending in -n, -r, -s, -l, -j, -d, or -y:

Let’s see a few more cases of nouns that form their plural by adding -es.

• Some singular nouns in Spanish end in an accented vowel plus -n or -s. To make the plural, add -es and lose the accent mark:

  Singular	Plural
  el avión the plane	los aviones the planes
  el autobús the bus	los autobuses the buses

• Some other singular nouns of two or more syllablesNo definition set for syllablesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. end in -en. For these, an accent mark needs to be added in the plural form:

  Singular	Plural
  el examen the exam	los exámenes the exams
  el joven the young person	los jóvenes the youth

• For Spanish nouns ending in consonants other than -n, -r, -s, -l, -j, -d, and -y, only add -s to make the plural. Look:

  Singular	Plural
  el mamut the mammoth	los mamuts the mammoths
  el tic the tic	los tics the tics

• There are a few nouns that end in -z. These require a small change in spelling to make the plural form: drop the -z, add -c and then -es:

  Singular	Plural
  lápiz pencil	lápices pencils
  actriz actress	actrices actresses

So far we have learned the main rules to making plural nouns in Spanish. Let’s recap quickly:

If you’ve read this far, and want to continue, prepare to learn all about special cases next!

There are special cases of Spanish plural nouns, such as nouns that have two plural forms, nouns that don’t change in the plural form, nouns that denote objects which have two symmetrical parts, compound nouns, and several additional cases. Let’s take a closer look.

3. Nouns that denote objects which have two symmetrical parts

Some nouns in Spanish denote objects that are made out of two symmetrical parts. This type of noun can be used in either the singular or the plural form. Look at the following pictures and examples:

Singular	Plural	Image
tijera scissors	tijeras scissors
nariz nose	narices nose
tenaza tongs	tenazas tongs

However, in other cases, only the plural form is used to denote an object that has two symmetrical parts:

Singular	Plural
gafa	gafas glasses
prismático	prismáticos binoculars

Before you leave, let’s take a quick look at three extra cases with Spanish nouns and their plural forms.

To sum up, making plural nouns in Spanish is pretty straightforward. Based on the noun ending in its singular form, all you need to do is add the right ending. Let’s recap the main points:

• If a noun ends in a vowel, simply add -s to form the plural.

• If a noun ends in a consonant, add -es for most cases.

• If a noun ends in -z, drop the -z and add -ces.

If you’re looking for an exercise to practice, we have created this simple activity where you can use what you’ve just learned. There is also a second exercise on singular and plural nouns in Spanish. Both exercises include an answer key for you to check your work.