Plurals Their Agreements & Tu or Vous in French Explained
Plurals
Many French words have plural forms. Plural nouns and adjectives can be formed by appending an -s to the singular, but remember that this -s is usually silent.
homme ("man") ⇒ hommes ("men")
femme ("woman") ⇒ femmes ("women")
chat noir ("black cat") ⇒ chats noirs ("black cats")
There are also plural forms for pronouns and verb conjugations. Consider parler ("to speak"):
| Person | French | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | je | Je parle. — I speak. |
| You (familiar singular) | tu | Tu parles. — You speak. |
| You (formal singular) | vous | Vous parlez. — You speak. |
| He | il | Il parle. — He speaks. |
| She | elle | Elle parle. — She speaks. |
| We | nous | Nous parlons. — We speak. |
| You (plural) | vous | Vous parlez. — You speak. |
| They (any group including a male) | ils | Ils parlent. — They speak. |
| They (all women) | elles | Elles parlent. — They speak. |
Agreement
Pronouns, adjectives, and articles must agree with their nouns in both gender and number. Consider the examples below and note how the article and adjective change to agree with each noun.
Masculine singular: Le chat noir — The black cat
Masculine plural: Les chats noirs — The black cats
Feminine singular: La robe noire — The black dress
Feminine plural: Les robes noires — The black dresses
Not all adjectives change forms. For instance, riche is the same for both masculine and feminine singular nouns.
Tu or Vous?
French has two words for the subject pronoun "you": tu and vous. For a singular "you", tu should only be used for friends, peers, relatives, children, or anyone else who's very familiar to you. In all other cases and also for plurals, the more polite vous should be used to show respect. When in doubt, use vous.
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