15 Making Nouns Plural

In Spanish, a noun is always either singular or plural. It is usually introduced by a determiner, which reflects the number of the noun.

Regular Plural Formation

In Spanish the plural is formed by adding an -s to the singular form of the noun for words ending in a vowel: a, e, i, o, and u,

un pájaro, dos pájaros one bird, two birds

una ballena, dos ballenas one whale, two whales

or by adding es to the singular form of the noun for words ending in a consonant or a stressed vowel.

un animal, dos animales one animal, two animals

un delfín, dos delfines one dolphin, two dolphins

Hay más oportunidades y hay otras áreas que explorar.There are more opportunities and other areas to explore.
Pude trabajar con niños y con animales al mismo tiempo pero no animales que… que encuentras en cualquier lado. O sea con ballenas, con delfines, con pájaros exóticos.I could work with kids and animals at the same time but not animales that you find anywhere but with whalesdolphins, exotic birds.

Nouns Ending in -s in the Singular 

Nouns ending in s do not change in the plural.

la dosis, las dosis the dosage, the dosages

el lunes, los lunes Monday, Mondays

Y al fin los viernes nos pagaba según las horas que uno trabajaba.And at the end on Fridays he paid us according to the number of hours one worked.

Nouns Ending in -z in the Singular

For nouns ending in -z plural is formed by adding es as for other words ending in a consonant, but additionally the –z changes to –c resulting in a ces ending.

la luz, las luces the light, the lights

el juez, los jueces the judge, the judges

Ya que me junté con mi novia no más voy como unas veces, una vez al mes.Since I’ve gotten together with my girlfriend, I only go a few times, one time a month.
Siempre sentí que tenía raíces, que viví en una comunidad grande. Nunca tuve mucha privacidad obviamente.I always felt that I had roots, that I lived in a big community. I never had much privacy obviously.

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