Overview
Just like in English, Spanish nouns can be singular or plural. Noun endings tell you the number (singular or plural) of the noun you are talking about.
Spanish plural nouns will almost always end in -s or -es. Here are the rules (and, of course, exceptions) you need to know to pluralize Spanish nouns.
Nouns that End in a Vowel
1. Just Add -s
Rule: If a singular noun ends in an unstressed vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or the stressed vowels á, é o ó, add -s to the end of the word.
Singular Plural
la pera
las peras
la bota
las botas
el sonido
los sonidos
el panti
los pantis
el café
los cafés
el papá
los papás
el buró
los burós
There are a few exceptions to the above rule. Here they are:
The plural of faralá (flounce) is faralaes .
The plural of no (no) is noes .
The plural of yo (I) is yoes or yos .
2. Add -s or -es
Rule: If a singular noun ends in í or ú, you can either just add -s to pluralize the word, or you can add -es. The -es plural form is considered to be a bit fancier.
Singular -s Plural -es Plural
tisú
tisús
tisúes
tabú
tabús
tabúes
israelí
israelís
israelíes
marroquí
marroquís
marroquíes
There are a few exceptions to the above rule. Here they are:
The plural of sí (yes) is always síes .
The plurals of loanwords (words that have come into Spanish from other languages) that end in í or ú are formed by simply adding an -s to the end of the word. Examples: popurrís (potpourris), menús (menus)
Nouns that End in a Consonant
1. Add -es
Rule: If a singular noun ends in a vowel plus y or the consonants l, r, n, d, z, j, s, x, or ch, add -es.
If a singular noun ends in z, you must change the z to a c before adding -es.
Singular Plural
el rey
los reyes
el panel
los paneles
el color
los colores
el botón
los botones
el césped
los céspedes
la luz
las luces
el reloj
los relojes
el mes
los meses
el reloj
los relojes
el fax
los faxes
el sándwich
los sándwiches
2. Add -s
Rule: If a singular noun ends in a consonant cluster (more than one consonant together) or a vowel plus a consonant other than l, r, n, d, z, j, s, x, or ch, add -s.
Singular Plural
el iceberg
los icebergs
el esnob
los esnobs
el zigzag
los zigzags
el crac
los cracs
el mamut
los mamuts
There are a few exceptions to the above rule. Here they are:
The plural of club (club) is clubes .
The plural of álbum (album) is álbumes .
The singular and plural forms of words ending in -st or -zt are the same. Examples: el test , los test
Exceptional Exceptions
Ready for the exceptions? Here they come! Keep in mind that many of the words below are specialized or technical words, so you won't come across them too often!
If a singular noun ends in -s or -x, has more than one syllable, and the last syllable is unstressed, the singular and plural forms are the same.
Singular Plural
el análisis
los análisis
el jueves
los jueves
el tórax
los tórax
If a singular noun ends in -l, -r, -n, -d, -z, -j and is a palabra esdrújula (a word with three more syllables that is accented on the third-to-last syllable), the singular and plural forms are the same.
Singular Plural English
el polisíndeton
polisíndeton
polysyndeton(s)
If the second word in a singular compound noun is a plural noun, the singular and plural forms are the same.
Singular Plural English
el ciempiés
los ciempiés
centipede(s)
el pasapuré
los pasapuré
hand mill(s)
