Language/Galician/Grammar/Plurals

Galician Grammar - Plurals

Hi Galician learners! 😊

In this lesson, we will focus on plurals in Galician grammar. Plurals are very important in any language, and Galician is no exception. Understanding the rules will help you communicate better in this beautiful language.

Basic rules

In Galician, plurals are formed in different ways depending on the type of noun. The most common way is to add -s to the singular form. However, there are many exceptions that we will look at in this lesson.

Here are some basic rules to get you started:

• Nouns ending in a vowel: add -s to the singular form.

• Nouns ending in a consonant: add -es to the singular form.

Examples

Here are some examples of adding -s and -es to form plurals:

Galician	Pronunciation	English
libro (book)	[ˈliβɾo]	libros (books)
casa (house)	[ˈkasa]	casas (houses)
flor (flower)	[floɾ]	flores (flowers)
árbol (tree)	[ˈaɾ βol]	árbores (trees)
avó (grandma)	[aˈβɔ]	avós (grandmas)

Note that there are some exceptions to these rules, especially with nouns that end in -n, -r, or -s. Let's take a closer look at those.

Irregular plurals

Nouns that end in -n, -r, or -s may form plurals in various ways.

Plurals in -ns

Nouns ending in -n or -on may form the plural by dropping the -n and adding -s. However, this is not always the case. Some nouns will change the -n to -m before adding -s. Others will change the final vowel before adding -ns. In other cases, there may be no change at all.

Here are some examples:

• corazón (heart) ➡ corazóns (hearts)
• león (lion) ➡ leóns (lions)
• pan (bread) ➡ pans (breads)
• lume (fire) ➡ lumieiras (bonfires)

Plurals in -res

Nouns that end in -r may form the plural by changing the -r to -is. However, there are exceptions to this rule.

• amor (love) ➡ amores (loves)
• álbum (album) ➡ álbums (albums)
• pobo (people) ➡ pobo (people)

Plurals in -eses

Nouns that end in -s may form the plural by adding -eses. Again, there are some exceptions to this rule.

• crocodilo (crocodile) ➡ crocodilos (crocodiles)
• lexislación (legislation) ➡ lexislacións (legislations)
• lápiz (pencil) ➡ lápices (pencils)

Gender

It's important to note that Galician is a gendered language, which means that nouns are categorized as masculine or feminine. This affects not only the articles that go with them, but also the form of the adjectives and verbs used to describe them.

In general, nouns that end in -o are masculine, while those that end in -a are feminine. However, there are many exceptions, so it's best to learn the gender of each noun as you go.

For plural forms, the same rules apply for masculine and feminine nouns.

Dialogue

To help you see plurals in context, here is a dialogue between two friends, Carlos and Marta:

• Carlos: "Marta, como están as túas plantas?" (Marta, how are your plants?)
• Marta: "Están ben, teño dúas buganvillas no balcón." (They are good, I have two bougainvilleas on the balcony.)
• Carlos: "Que bonitas! Eu tamén teño unhas plantas, pero necesitan máis auga." (How beautiful! I also have some plants, but they need more water.)
• Marta: "De que tipo son? Levas tempo coidándoas?" (What kind are they? Have you been taking care of them for long?)
• Carlos: "Son cactus, non precisan moita atención. Pero si, acórdome de regalalos a miña avoa no día da nai hai uns anos." (They are cacti, they don't need much attention. But yes, I remember giving them to my grandma on mother's day a few years ago.)

Conclusion

Plurals can be tricky in any language, but with practice, they become second nature. In Galician, there are some basic rules to follow, but also many exceptions. Learning the gender of each noun is also important, as it affects not only the form of the plural, but also the adjectives and verbs used to describe them.

To improve your Galician Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Sources

• Galician language
• Galician grammar
• Gender in Spanish and Portuguese