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Unpacking moving boxes means dealing with a lot of household gadgets! In French, many of these items are **compound nouns** (words joined by hyphens). Making them plural depends on what types of words are combined.

### Noun + Adjective

When a compound noun is made of a noun and an adjective, both parts take a plural marker (*-s* or *-x*).

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### Verb + Noun

The most common way to name a gadget in French is by combining a verb and a noun (like a "cork-puller" for a corkscrew). In these combinations, the verb NEVER takes an *-s*. The noun usually takes a plural *-s* or *-x*.

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Notice how the verbs (*tire* and *porte*) remain unchanged, while the nouns (*bouchons* and *manteaux*) become plural.

### Nouns Already Ending in -s or -x

If the noun part of the compound already ends in an *-s* or *-x* in its singular form, the word does not change at all in the plural. You simply change the article (like *le* to *les*).

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### Uncountable or Invariable Nouns

Sometimes, the noun in a verb-noun compound refers to something uncountable or abstract. In these cases, the noun does not take a plural *-s*.

For example, *un lave-linge* (a washing machine) literally washes *linge* (linens or laundry, an uncountable concept). Similarly, *un abat-jour* (a lampshade) blocks out *jour* (daylight). Because these concepts cannot be counted in this context, the compound nouns remain invariable in the plural.

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Plural compound nouns

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
to unpack	déballer
the corkscrew	le tire-bouchon
I am unpacking the small corkscrews.	Je suis en train de déballer les petits tire-bouchons.
the can opener (m)	l'ouvre-boîte
Moreover, we never use these can openers!	D'ailleurs, nous n'utilisons jamais ces ouvre-boîtes !
the lampshade (m)	l'abat-jour
While unpacking this box, I found some beautiful lampshades.	En déballant ce carton, j'ai trouvé de beaux abat-jour.
the coat rack	le porte-manteau
Where are you going to put the large coat racks?	Où vas-tu mettre les grands porte-manteaux ?
There are two heavy safes in the living room.	Il y a deux coffres-forts lourds dans le salon.
the nutcracker	le casse-noix
Indeed, these old nutcrackers are very weird.	En effet, ces vieux casse-noix sont très bizarres.
the hairdryer	le sèche-cheveux
She put away the hairdryers while cleaning the bathroom.	Elle a rangé les sèche-cheveux en nettoyant la salle de bain.
the microwave	le micro-ondes
Why do we have three microwaves in the kitchen?	Pourquoi avons-nous trois micro-ondes dans la cuisine ?
the citrus juicer	le presse-agrumes
These are good citrus juicers!	Ce sont de bons presse-agrumes !
We never find the corkscrews!	On ne trouve jamais les tire-bouchons !
These can openers and these citrus juicers are very practical.	Ces ouvre-boîtes et ces presse-agrumes sont très pratiques.
He moved the safes without breaking the lampshades.	Il a déplacé les coffres-forts sans casser les abat-jour.
Are the coat racks and the microwaves already there?	Est-ce que les porte-manteaux et les micro-ondes sont déjà là ?
By searching in this closet, you are going to find some good hairdryers.	En fouillant dans ce placard, tu vas trouver de bons sèche-cheveux.
I unpack the boxes and I find two nutcrackers.	Je déballe les cartons et je trouve deux casse-noix.
the washing machine	le lave-linge
We are unpacking the washing machines. Are you taking care of it?	Nous déballons les lave-linge. Est-ce que tu t'en occupes ?
the bedspread	le couvre-lit
I only unpacked the bedspreads on which you sleep.	Je n'ai déballé que les couvre-lits sur lesquels tu dors.
The bedspreads are in the box. I folded them this morning.	Les couvre-lits sont dans la boîte. Je les ai pliés ce matin.
Did you put away the can openers? I looked for them!	Tu as rangé les ouvre-boîtes ? Je les ai cherchés !
the pencil sharpener	le taille-crayon
We have two washing machines and three pencil sharpeners.	Nous avons deux lave-linge et trois taille-crayons.
I am putting away the pencil sharpeners in the drawer.	Je range les taille-crayons dans le tiroir.