Ultimate Guide To Plural In Spanish Grammar With Examples

Ever found yourself in a tangle with plural in Spanish?

Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. Whether you’re just dipping your toes into the Spanish language pool or you’re looking to polish your grammar skills, you’re in for a treat. Spring Spanish (one of my side-projects) made a video about Spanish plurals, so here’s what you need to know about this topic:

In this post, we’ll give you tons of examples along with the official rules and definitions needed to understand plural in Spanish.

1. Basic rules about Spanish plural

Alright, let’s start with the basics.

In Spanish, forming plurals is usually pretty straightforward. If a word ends in a vowel, you just add -s to the end.

For example, “casa” (house) becomes “casas” (houses). Easy peasy, right?

books on a bookshelf illustrating plurals in spanish

Now, if a word ends in a consonant, you add -es. So “papel” (paper) turns into “papeles” (papers).

This rule applies to most consonants, but as we’ll see later, there are a few tricky exceptions.

Words ending in vowels

SingularPlural
libro (book)libros
mesa (table)mesas
taxi (taxi)taxis
foto (photo)fotos
menú (menu)menús
casa (house)casas
gato (cat)gatos
mano (hand)manos
cafetería (cafeteria)cafeterías
coche (car)coches

Words ending in consonants

SingularPlural
profesor (teacher)profesores
ciudad (city)ciudades
mes (month)meses
papel (paper)papeles
reloj (clock)relojes
árbol (tree)árboles
flor (flower)flores
pared (wall)paredes
actor (actor)actores
mujer (woman)mujeres

Invariable words (ending in unstressed -es or -is)

SingularPlural
lunes (Monday)lunes
crisis (crisis)crisis
tesis (thesis)tesis
análisis (analysis)análisis
dosis (dose)dosis
síntesis (synthesis)síntesis
hipótesis (hypothesis)hipótesis

2. Plural in Spanish for words ending in -z

Here’s a fun one: words that end in -z.

These words do a little spelling dance when they become plural.

The -z changes to -c, and then we add -es. For example, “lápiz” (pencil) becomes “lápices” (pencils). It’s like the -z puts on a disguise to join the plural party!

SingularPlural
luz (light)luces
pez (fish)peces
nariz (nose)narices
voz (voice)voces
lápiz (pencil)lápices
juez (judge)jueces
arroz (rice)arroces
vez (time)veces
cruz (cross)cruces
feliz (happy)felices

3. Form the plural in Spanish for words with accent marks

Accent marks in Spanish can be a bit of a headache, but don’t worry!

The general rule is that if a singular word has an accent mark on the last syllable, it loses it in the plural form.

Camión” (truck) becomes “camiones” (trucks). It’s like the accent mark gets scared off by the extra syllable! Here are some examples:

Words losing accent in plural

SingularPlural
inglés (English)ingleses
francés (French)franceses
camión (truck)camiones
alemán (German)alemanes
japonés (Japanese)japoneses
avión (plane)aviones
canción (song)canciones
león (lion)leones

Words keeping accent in plural

SingularPlural
árbol (tree)árboles
examen (exam)exámenes
lápiz (pencil)lápices
cárcel (prison)cárceles
césped (lawn)céspedes
fácil (easy)fáciles
difícil (difficult)difíciles
túnel (tunnel)túneles

Words gaining accent in plural

SingularPlural
joven (young)jóvenes
imagen (image)imágenes
volumen (volume)volúmenes
resumen (summary)resúmenes
dictamen (opinion)dictámenes
espécimen (specimen)especímenes
carácter (character)caracteres
régimen (regime)regímenes

4. Plural Spanish grammar rules for invariable words

Some words in Spanish don’t change at all in the plural form.

These are usually words ending in -s or -x that don’t have the stress on the last syllable. “Lunes” (Monday) stays “lunes” even when you’re talking about multiple Mondays. 

It’s like these words are too cool to change – and most days of the week in Spanish are like this.

Days of the week

SingularPlural
lunes (Monday)lunes
martes (Tuesday)martes
miércoles (Wednesday)miércoles
jueves (Thursday)jueves
viernes (Friday)viernes

Other invariable words for plural in Spanish

SingularPlural
paraguas (umbrella)paraguas
sacapuntas (pencil sharpener)sacapuntas
cumpleaños (birthday)cumpleaños
lavaplatos (dishwasher)lavaplatos
cortaúñas (nail clipper)cortaúñas
trabalenguas (tongue twister)trabalenguas
parabrisas (windshield)parabrisas

5. Form the plural in Spanish for compound words

Compound words can be tricky.

Usually, only the last word in the compound gets pluralized. But, sometimes there’s no change at all, and there are special cases, too. So, maybe it’s best if we put it into an all-in-one table:

CategorySingularPluralEnglish Translation
No change in pluralel guardaespaldaslos guardaespaldasbodyguard(s)
el paraguaslos paraguasumbrella(s)
el lavavajillaslos lavavajillasdishwasher(s)
el sacacorchoslos sacacorchoscorkscrew(s)
Only second word changesel ferrocarrillos ferrocarrilesrailway(s)
la bocacallelas bocacallesstreet entrance(s)
el altavozlos altavocesspeaker(s)
Both parts change (rare)el gentilhombrelos gentileshombresgentleman/gentlemen
la ricahembralas ricashembrasnoblewoman/noblewomen
Special casesel hijodalgolos hijosdalgonobleman/noblemen
la cualquieralos cualesquierawhoever/whomever

6. Spanish plural nouns for foreign words

Spanish has borrowed words from other languages, and these can be a bit rebellious when it comes to plurals.

Some follow Spanish rules, while others keep their original plural form.

Club” becomes “clubes,” following Spanish rules, but “hobby” often stays “hobby” in plural.

These words like to keep us on our toes!

Fully adapted

Original wordSpanish plural
sandwichsándwiches
álbumálbumes
clubclubes
champú (shampoo)champús
líder (leader)líderes

Partially adapted

Original wordSpanish plural
récordrécords
eslogan (slogan)eslóganes
mástermásteres
pósterpósteres
cómiccómics

English form retained

Original wordSpanish plural
castingcastings
parkingparkings
marketingmarketings
softwaresoftwares
hardwarehardwares

7. Irregular plural nouns in Spanish

Every language has its rebels, and Spanish is no exception.

Some words just don’t follow the rules. 🙂

Irregular plural nouns in Spanish make learning fun – and sometimes a bit frustrating!

SingularPlural
el pie (foot)los pies
el análisis (analysis)los análisis
el virus (virus)los virus
la crisis (crisis)las crisis
el régimen (regime)los regímenes
el espécimen (specimen)los especímenes
el carácter (character)los caracteres
la dosis (dose)las dosis

8. Singular and plural of articles and adjectives in Spanish

Remember, in Spanish, it’s not just the noun that changes in plural.

Articles and adjectives need to agree too.

El gato negro” (the black cat) becomes “los gatos negros” (the black cats).

It’s like everything has to match for the plural party!

SingularPlural
la casa blanca (the white house)las casas blancas
el coche rápido (the fast car)los coches rápidos
una estudiante inteligente (an intelligent student)unas estudiantes inteligentes
el niño pequeño (the small child)los niños pequeños
la flor roja (the red flower)las flores rojas
un perro grande (a big dog)unos perros grandes
el libro interesante (the interesting book)los libros interesantes

9. Make family names singular to plural in Spanish

When it comes to family names, Spanish keeps it simple.

To talk about the whole family, you just add “los” before the surname. “Los García” means the García family.

No need to add an -s or -es to the name itself!

Family namePlural formMeaning
Martínezlos Martínezthe Martinez family
Rodríguezlos Rodríguezthe Rodriguez family
Gómezlos señores GómezMr. and Mrs. Gomez
Lópezlos Lópezthe Lopez family
Fernándezlos Fernándezthe Fernandez family
Garcíalos Garcíathe Garcia family
Pérezlos Pérezthe Perez family

10. Plural numbers and quantities in Spanish

Expressing plural quantities in Spanish is pretty straightforward.

Numbers above one are always followed by plural nouns. “Dos perros” (two dogs), “cien años” (one hundred years). Do you know which one of the recommended and easy Spanish books has cien años in its title? 

Cardinal numbers

SingularPlural
un libro (one book)cinco libros (five books)
una casa (one house)diez casas (ten houses)
un coche (one car)tres coches (three cars)
una flor (one flower)siete flores (seven flowers)
un árbol (one tree)veinte árboles (twenty trees)

11. Practice plural in Spanish with practice exercises

To correctly learn the plural in Spanish, you have to practice it. And what could be a better way than our pre-made flashcards on Quizlet?!

If you want, you can practice more: click the button now, and you’ll get access to our Full Practice Worksheet Library!

12. Become an expert in Spanish plural with Conversation Based Chunking

Once you develop a feeling for the plurals in Spanish, you won’t even think about them. But how do you reach that point of no thinking?

If you’re looking for this answer, you’re in the right place! We teach our students with the Conversation Based Chunking method.

It’s a method that focuses on teaching you the language without boring grammar rules, and instead, teaches you the most important lexical chunks by immersion. What are lexical chunks? Well, to be short, they are the natural building blocks of the language that native speakers use all the time.

If you’re curious about this method and want to learn more, just click the button here, and we’ll send you the rest: your first FREE Spanish Chunking Starter Pack!

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