How to Form the Plural of Spanish Nouns

Explanation

   Plural means more than one. In Spanish, it is fairly easy to turn a singular noun into its plural form. Generally, nouns ending in a vowel become plural by simply adding an s. For example, un zapato (a shoe), unos zapatos (some shoes).

   For nouns ending in a consonant, we simply add es. For example, el pastel (the cake), los pasteles (the cakes).
  It is important to also change the definite or indefinite articles accordingly.

Examples

Singular

  •  el cinema (the movie theater)
  • el tema (the topic)
  • el problema (the problem)
  • el sistema (the system)
  • el idioma (the language)

Plural

  • los cinemas (the movie theaters)
  • los temas (the topics)
  • los problemas (the problems)
  • los sistemas (the systems)
  • los idiomas (the languages)

Singular

  • una mujer (a woman)
  • una universidad (a university)
  • un hospital (a hospital)
  • una flor (a flower)
  • un limón (a lemon)

Plural

  • unas mujeres (some women)
  • unas universidades (some universities)
  • unos hospitales (some hospitals)
  • unas flores (some flowers)
  • unos limones (some lemons)

Some irregulars

  • el lápiz (the pencil)            - los lápices (pencils)
  • la luz (the light)                 - las luces (lights)
  • la cruz (the cross)             - las cruces (crosses)

Audio

First, do the activity on the right-hand side. Then, listen to this audio clip to check your answers. Finally, play it again and repeat after me to practice your pronunciation.

Grammar Practice