What's the Right Plural Form? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Messieurs

Other irregular plurals include "aïeul" (ancestor) - "aïeux"; "bonhomme" (fellow) - "bonshommes"; "ciel" (sky) - "cieux"; "oeil" (eye) - "yeux"; "Madame" (Mrs) - "Mesdames"; "Mademoiselle" (Miss) - "Mesdemoiselles".

Answer: un bijou - des bijous

Words ending in "-ou" form their plurals with an "s". However, seven French nouns ending in "-ou" form their plurals by adding "x": "bijou" (jewel), "caillou" (pebble), "chou" (cabbage), "genou" (knee), "hibou" (owl), "joujou" (toy) and "pou" (louse).

Answer: True

French adjectives of colors agree in gender and number, but "marron" (brown) is also a noun meaning "chestnut". When color adjectives derive from nouns of fruits, they do not agree with gender and number: for example "des foulards orange" (orange scarves); "des chaussettes rouge-cerise" (cherry red socks).

When "marron", "cerise" or "orange" are nouns, they do form their plurals with an "s": "des marrons", "des cerises", "des oranges".

Answer: un travail - des travails

Words ending in "-ail" form their plurals by adding an "s" to the singular form : "rail" (railroad) becomes "rails", "éventail" (fan) becomes "éventails".

The following words, however, form their plurals by changing "ail" to "aux": "bail" (lease), "corail" (coral), "émail" (enamel), "soupirail" (basement window), "travail" (work), "vantail" (door panel), "vitrail" (stained-glass window).

Even though the correct plural of "ail"(garlic) is "aulx", it is very seldom used. Furthermore, the "Académie Française" (France's official authority on the usage, vocabulary, and grammar of the French language) approved the usage of the plural "ails" (see French dictionary Larousse). Yet in French, "des gousses d'ail" (cloves of garlic) and "des têtes d'ail" (heads of garlic) are usually used to express the plural form.

Answer: un régal - des régaux

Masculine nouns ending in "-al" make their plurals with "aux", except "bal, carnaval, festival, chacal, régal, cal" whose plurals are formed by adding an "s". In other words, "régal" (treat) becomes "régals", "bal" (ball) becomes "bals" and "chacal" (jackal) becomes "chacals".

Answer: bleus, vert foncé

Adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun: "des yeux bleus" (blue eyes), "des yeux verts" (green eyes), "des cheveux blonds" (blonde hair). When compound nouns consist of two adjectives, both parts take the plural form. However, in "vert foncé" (dark green), "dark" is an adjective modifying another adjective "green". So, "vert foncé" does not change when used in the plural form. Likewise, "des yeux bleu clair" (light blue eyes), "des cheveux blond foncé" (dark blonde hair), des robes bleu-mauve (blue purple dresses).

Answer: un coffre-fort - des coffre-fort

The plural of "coffre-fort" (safe for the storage of valuables) is "coffres-forts". "Coffre-fort" is a compound noun made up of a noun "coffre" (box) and an adjective "fort" (strong). When compound nouns consist of two nouns, or a noun and an adjective, or two adjectives, both parts take the plural form. On the other hand, "couvre-lit" (bedspread) is a compound noun made up of a verb (couvrir) and a noun (lit). Only the noun takes the plural form: "un brise-glace" (ice breaker) - "des brise-glaces".

Answer: un chapeau - des chapeaus

Nouns and adjectives ending in "-eau", "-au", and "-eu" usually form their plurals by adding an "x": "chameau" (camel) becomes "chameaux" and the plural for "bateau" (boat) is "bateaux". "Un étau" (vise) - "des étaux", "un feu" (fire) - "des feux".

The word "lieu" has two plurals depending on its meaning. If used to mean "place", then the plural is "lieux". If used to mean "pollock", then the plural is "lieus".

Answer: neuve - neufes

"Neuves" is the feminine plural of "neuve" (new). "Neufs" is the masculine plural of "neuf". The feminine singular of a masculine singular adjective ending with "-f" is formed by changing "f" to "ve": "neuf" (new) - "neuve"; "veuf" (widower) - "veuve" (widow).

Both masculine and feminine form their plurals by adding "s" to their singular forms : "veuf - veufs", "veuve - veuves".

Answer: 353 = trois cents cinquante-trois

Multiples of "cent" (a hundred) end with "-s": deux cents (200), trois cents (300), quatre cents(400)..."neuf cents" (900). When it is not a multiple of one hundred, the word "cent" is invariable. Therefore, the correct spelling of "353" is "trois cent cinquante-trois". There is no "s" at the end of "cent".