1.9. Des et les noms pluriels | Serious French

Plural Nouns and the Plural Indefinite Article Des | Serious French

To talk about more than one person or thing, French uses plural nouns.

The plural indefinite article des means some or simply plural a/an.

In English, we often say just books or tables. In French, you often need des before plural nouns.

Most French nouns become plural by adding -s.

The final -s is usually written but not pronounced. Silent little tail, very important on paper.

Use un with masculine singular nouns.

Use une with feminine singular nouns.

Use des with plural nouns, masculine or feminine.

More examples:

For people, the noun often changes to show masculine, feminine, singular, or plural.

For a mixed group, French uses the masculine plural form.

For things and ideas, just use the noun’s grammatical gender in the singular, then form the plural.

Some nouns already end in -s in the singular, so they do not change in writing.

Before a vowel sound, the s in des is pronounced like z.

This linking sound is called liaison.

Adjectives usually agree with plural nouns by adding -s.

Many final -s endings are written but not strongly pronounced.

Use c’est for singular.

Use ce sont for plural.

In everyday speech, people sometimes use c’est before plural ideas, but ce sont is the standard form to learn.

Use Qu’est-ce que c’est ? for both singular and plural in everyday French.

In negative sentences, un, une, and des usually become de / d’ after ne… pas.

Before a vowel sound, de becomes d’.

1.9.12. Practice

1.9.15. Checkpoint

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to form regular plural nouns, use des with masculine and feminine plural nouns, recognize plural forms for people and things, use ce sont des…, and change des to de / d’ after ne… pas.