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?

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
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
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
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
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)
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
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!
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
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
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
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
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
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
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
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
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
lunes (Monday) | lunes |
martes (Tuesday) | martes |
miércoles (Wednesday) | miércoles |
jueves (Thursday) | jueves |
viernes (Friday) | viernes |
Other invariable words for plural in Spanish
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
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:
Category | Singular | Plural | English Translation |
---|---|---|---|
No change in plural | el guardaespaldas | los guardaespaldas | bodyguard(s) |
el paraguas | los paraguas | umbrella(s) | |
el lavavajillas | los lavavajillas | dishwasher(s) | |
el sacacorchos | los sacacorchos | corkscrew(s) | |
Only second word changes | el ferrocarril | los ferrocarriles | railway(s) |
la bocacalle | las bocacalles | street entrance(s) | |
el altavoz | los altavoces | speaker(s) | |
Both parts change (rare) | el gentilhombre | los gentileshombres | gentleman/gentlemen |
la ricahembra | las ricashembras | noblewoman/noblewomen | |
Special cases | el hijodalgo | los hijosdalgo | nobleman/noblemen |
la cualquiera | los cualesquiera | whoever/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 word | Spanish plural |
---|---|
sandwich | sándwiches |
álbum | álbumes |
club | clubes |
champú (shampoo) | champús |
líder (leader) | líderes |
Partially adapted
Original word | Spanish plural |
---|---|
récord | récords |
eslogan (slogan) | eslóganes |
máster | másteres |
póster | pósteres |
cómic | cómics |
English form retained
Original word | Spanish plural |
---|---|
casting | castings |
parking | parkings |
marketing | marketings |
software | softwares |
hardware | hardwares |
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!
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
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!
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
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 name | Plural form | Meaning |
---|---|---|
Martínez | los Martínez | the Martinez family |
Rodríguez | los Rodríguez | the Rodriguez family |
Gómez | los señores Gómez | Mr. and Mrs. Gomez |
López | los López | the Lopez family |
Fernández | los Fernández | the Fernandez family |
García | los García | the Garcia family |
Pérez | los Pérez | the 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
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
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!