Plural Nouns

Plural French nouns
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Noms pluriels

While most nouns, in both French and English, can be singular or plural, some can only be one or the other – and dozens of these don’t "match up" in the two languages. The nouns on this page are plural in French but singular in English.

 Grammar note

The French nouns are plural in every respect: they require the third-person plural (ils / elles) form of the verb, plural adjective agreement, etc.

Par exemple …

Je mange des pâtes aux épinards.   I’m eating spinach pasta.
Vos conseils m’aident beaucoup.   Your advice helps me a lot.

Plural French nouns

abats   offal  
affaires   business  
agrès   exercise machine  
alentours   vicinity  
arrhes   deposit  
asperges   asparagus  
auditeurs   audience  
bagages   baggage, luggage  
bestiaux   livestock  
biche(s)   deer 1
brocolis   broccoli  
céréales   cereal  
cerf(s)   deer 1
cheveux   hair  
chevrons   herringbone  
combles   attic  
connaissances   knowledge 2
conseils   advice  
coordonnées   contact information,
name and address
 
crevettes   shrimp  
débris   debris  
déchets   garbage, rubbish  
décombres   rubble  
dégâts   damage 2
devoirs   homework  
dommage(s)   damage 2
données   data 3
ébats amoureux/sexuels   lovemaking  
échecs   chess  
environs   vicinity  
épinards   spinach  
étrennes   gift 4
fiançailles   engagement  
foins   hay 2
fruit(s)   fruit 5
fumerolles   volcanic smoke and gas 2
funérailles   funeral  
graffitis   graffiti  
il y a de fortes chances que…   there’s a good chance that…
informations   information  
logiciel(s)   software 5
maths   math (American English)  
médicaments   medicine  
meubles   furniture  
mouton(s)   sheep 1
munitions   ammunition  
noces   wedding 2
obsèques   funeral  
ordures   garbage, rubbish  
parasites   static  
pâtes   pasta  
pierreries   gems  
poisson(s)   fish 1
preuve(s)   evidence 5
prévisions   forecast  
proches   next of kin  
progrès   progress 2
ravages   havoc  
règles (avoir ses règles)   period (to have one’s period)
recherches   research  
remords   remorse  
renseignements   information  
rente(s)   income 2
revenu(s)   income 2
sables mouvants   quicksand  
sciences   science 2
spaghettis   spaghetti  
spectateurs   audience  
ténèbres   darkness  
transports   transportation  
vacances   vacation (US)
holiday(s) (UK)
 
vêtements   clothing  
victuailles, vivres   food  

Notes

1. These nouns have unmarked plurals, meaning the same word is used for both singular (the deer is) and plural (the deer are).

2. These are usually plural in French, but are occasionally used in the singular (lesson coming soon).

3. In fact, "data" is plural ("datum" is the singular noun), but many English speakers use it as if it’s singular.

4. For Christmas or New Year’s.

5. These nouns are countable in French (take an "s" for plural) but uncountable (always singular) in English.

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Plural French nouns

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