Making nouns plural in Spanish

Making nouns plural

in Spanish

Try to identify the pattern for making nouns plural when the word ends in a

vowel…

una bandera

unas banderas

una calculadora

unas calculadoras

un libro

unos libros

¡Fíjate!... un → unos

una mochila

unas mochilas

una papelera

unas papeleras

una pluma

unas plumas

una prueba

unas pruebas

una puerta

unas puertas

un compañero

unos compañeros

¡Fíjate!... un → unos

una profesora

unas profesoras

unas profesoras This form of the word would only be appropriate if all of the professors were females.

When a Spanish noun ends in a vowel you simply add the letter

“S” to make it plural.

Now let’s observe what you do when a Spanish noun ends with a consonant.

un profesor

unos profesores

unos profesores ¡Fíjate!... When you have a group of mixed gender you must make the plural form masculine!

unos profesores So even if you have 99 ladies and only one man, you still use the masculine form.

un pizarrón

unos pizarrones

unos pizarrones ¡Fíjate!... The singular form of pizarrón carries an accent, but once the word is plural it is no longer required.

unos pizarrones The extra syllable now places the point of emphasis on the 2nd to last syllable, eliminating the need for an accent.

una universidad

unas universidades

un salón (de clase)

unos salones ¡Fíjate!... The accent has been dropped in the plural form.

In review, when a Spanish noun ends in

a vowel you add

? to make it plural.

In review, when a Spanish noun ends in

a vowel you add

-s to make it plural.

And when a Spanish noun ends in a

consonant you add

-es to make it plural.

Finally, there are times when you must

slightly modify the spelling of a word to

make it plural.

un lápiz

unos lápices

lápiz

lápices