How to form the plural of Spanish nouns?

The plural for many Spanish nouns is formed by adding -s or -es to the singular form, similar to English. Let’s take a look at the following examples:

• casa (meaning house) - casas (meaning houses)

• dolor (meaning pain) - dolores (meaning pains)

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 vowel, form the plural by adding -s:

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 consonant? 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:

  Endings	Singular	Plural
  Ending in consonant -n, -r, -s, -l, -j, -d	el corazón Translation: the heart	los corazones Translation: the hearts
  	el taller Translation: the workshop	los talleres Translation: the workshops
  	el bus Translation: the bus	los buses Translation: the buses
  	el árbol Translation: the tree	los árboles Translation: the trees
  	el reloj Translation: the watch	los relojes Translation: the watches
  	la pared Translation: the wall	las paredes Translation: the walls
  Ending in consonant -y	la ley Translation: the law	las leyes Translation: the laws
  	el buey Translation: the ox	los bueyes Translation: the oxen

• 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 Translation: the plane	los aviones Translation: the planes
  el autobús Translation: the bus	los autobuses Translation: the buses

• Some other singular nouns of two or more syllables end in -es. For these, an accent mark needs to be added in the plural form:

  Singular	Plural
  el examen Translation: the exam	los exámenes Translation: the exams
  el joven Translation: the young person	los jóvenes Translation: 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 Translation: the mammoth	los mamuts Translation: the mammoths
  el tic Translation: the tic	los tics Translation: 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 Translation: pencil	lápices Translation: pencils
  actriz Translation: actress	actrices Translation: 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 Translation: scissors	tijeras Translation: scissors
nariz Translation: nose	narices Translation: nose
tenaza Translation: tongs	tenazas Translation: tongs

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

Singular	Plural
gafa	gafas Translation: glasses
prismático	prismáticos Translation: 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 a 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.