AL- AUX French plural endings

Oops - are you pronouncing your plurals wrongly? 

Un animal - Deux animaux

That’s how it goes! 

A really quick mini-lesson to help you enjoy being just a little bit more French today.

Make your quick discovery and learn: 

•  A group of common words where -AL goes to -AUX
•  How to pronounce them well
•  How to make sure you remember

10 words to practise the aux ending.

Let’s play with 10 French words that we commonly use so you remember their plural.

All French words ending in al have their plural in aux except a few of them.

The first one is animaux, the plural of animal. 

In a full sentence, you could see or hear this:

• Elle adore les animaux, surtout les girafes. >>> She loves animals, in particular giraffes.

The second one is locaux, the plural of local.

Here’s an example :

• Les villages locaux en France sont charmants. >>> Local villages in France are charming.

Then the word journaux, the plural of journal.

I have this illustration:

• Ils ne lisent plus de journaux mais lisent sur Internet. >>> They don’t read newspapers anymore but they read on the Internet.

This one means horses: chevaux, the plural of cheval.

For instance:

• Les chevaux sont des animaux très intelligents. >>> Horses are clever animals.

Here’s another one: hôpitaux, the plural of hôpital. Like this: 

• La majorité des hôpitaux en France sont publics. >>> Most French hospitals are public.

If you ever go to a French-speaking country, you need this word: signaux, the plural of signal.

Here’s an illustration:

• Il faut regarder les signaux avant de traverser. >>> You must look at the signals before crossing.

Note that the combination of g and n gives you ñ sound. Be sure to watch the video.

If you go to Paris but more in Venice, you can see this: canaux, the plural of canal. For example:

• Il y a des canaux près des fleuves. >>> There are canals near rivers.

You need this word for food: bocaux, the plural of bocal. Like this:

Tu as besoin de bocaux pour ta confiture. >>> You need jars for your marmelade.

Here’s another one: minéraux, the plural of mineral. Like this:

• Les minéraux ont beaucoup d’énergie. >>> Minerals have a lot of energy.

And, finally: principaux, the plural of principal.

For instance:

• Je prépare mes présentations avec les points principaux. >>> I prepare my presentations with the main point.

3 exceptions to remember.

Let’s learn 3 French words where the plural is irregular. Indeed, you will add s like regular plurals.

The first one is festivals.

• Il existe de nombreux festivals en France en été. >>> There are many festivals in France in summer.

The second one is bals.

• On danse généralement la valse dans les bals. >>> We usually dances a waltz in dance parties.

And, finally is carnavals.

• On porte généralement un masque dans les carnavals. >>> One usually wears a mask in carnivals.

These 3 exceptions share a common feature: they all deal with music somehow…

Tips to remember these French words.

First, visualise the sounds and choose the most important ones for you.

Then, vocalise them. Practice reading out loud. Don’t stay with the idea that you know how to say it without doing it aloud. The best thing you could do would be to record your voice and listen to it after to check. Even better, get instant feedback from a native speaker.

Besides, take these examples and make your own to suit your life and what you would say. That way, you’ll remember them more easily.

Practice as much as you can or you will forget.

Don’t try to learn everything at the same time. On the contrary, focus on one at a time.

Finally, embrace your learning. It’s not a big deal if you make a mistake. 

How to deal with the plural in French.

The regular plural is by adding an s to your word. However, if it ends with the ending al, the rule is to change it for the ending aux.

In this mini-lesson, you saw 10 French words: 

• animaux >>> animals
• locaux >>> local
• journaux >>> newspapers
• chevaux >>> horses
• hôpitaux >>> hospitals
• signaux >>> signals 
• canaux >>> canals
• bocaux >>> jars
• minéraux >>> minerals
• principaux >>> main

And you saw 3 exceptions:

• bals >>> balls

• festivals >>> festivals

• carnavals >>> carnivals

And now:

The following FREE masterclass is available to you to guide you through being able to speak French with confidence.  And if you speak with more confidence, you also hear more easily - really.  Take a peek . .  https://www.simplyfrenchonline.com head for LEARN and then Masterclass. 

Tell me the truth, what are the mistakes you make with aux endings?