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

Making Nouns Plural

Just like in English, you make most regular French nouns plural by adding an -s to the end. In spoken French, however, this final -s is usually silent.

The Plural Indefinite Article: des

In English, we say "a pen," but when there is more than one, we drop the article and say "pens" (or "some pens"). In French, you cannot drop the article.

The plural of both un (masculine) and une (feminine) is des. Depending on the sentence, des might translate to "some" or it might not translate to any specific word at all.

Some trees and flowers are here.
Des arbres et des fleurs sont ici.
These are fruits.
Ce sont des fruits.

C'est vs. ce sont

When pointing things out, use c'est (it is / this is) for a singular item. For plural items, use ce sont (they are / these are).

It is a house, and these are stores.
C'est une maison, et ce sont des magasins.
These are pens and pencils.
Ce sont des stylos et des crayons.

The same rules apply when talking about people:

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