Spanish Plural Nouns

Image by National Library NZ on The Commons via Flickr

Just like English, nouns in Spanish have a plural form - or in other words, they can show the difference between one item and more than one. Here are the rules for making plural nouns.

1. Add -s to nouns ending in vowels.
Vaca • Vacas [bah-kahs] ‘cows’
Gato • Gatos [gah-tos] ‘cats’
Plaza • Plazas [plah-sas] ‘towns’
Calle • Calles [kai-yehs] ‘streets’
Tía • Tías [tee-ahs] ‘aunts’


2. Add -es to nouns ending in consonants.
Papel • Papeles [pa-peh-les] ‘papers’
Color • Colores [koh-loh-res] ‘colors’
Ciudad • Ciudades [see-oo-dah-dehs] ‘cities’
Hotel • Hoteles [o-teh-les] ‘hotels’
Flor • Flores [floh-rehs] ‘flowers’
Mes • Meses [meh-ses] ‘months’

*Some nouns ending in /s/ don't change form when pluralized.
Jueves • Jueves [khwe-ves] ‘Thursdays’


3. For nouns ending in /z/, change the /z/ to /c/ then add -es.
Pez • Peces [peh-sehs] ‘fishes’
Luz • Luces [loo-sehs] ‘lights’
Vez • Veces [ve-sehs] ‘number of times’
Voz • Voces [vo-sehs] ‘voices’
Lapiz • Lapices [la-pi-sehs] ‘pencils’