Dutch Grammar • Plural ending: -s or -en? (2024)

Nouns and articles

Articles

Articles
Definite articles
Het-nouns
De-nouns
Indefinite article 'een'
Using articles

Plurals ending

Plural nouns
Plurals ending in -en
Plurals ending in -s
Plurals: -s or -en?
Other endings
Irregular plurals

Diminutives

Diminutives
Diminutive endings
-tje ending
-etje ending
-pje ending
-kje ending
Checklist
Irregular diminutives
Summary

Compound nouns

Compound nouns
Connectors
Connectors -en/-e
Connectors -s
Connector -er
No connector

Plural ending: -s or -en?

Nouns and articles exercises Noun Zero Plural - Taalunieversum

1. Nouns that end in a single vowel (see long vowels)

Add an apostrophe ('s) to nouns ending in single a, i, o, u, or y . They need an apostrophe to keep their vowels long.

de oma	de oma's	the grandmas
de ski	de ski's	the skis
de radio	de radio's	the radios
het menu	de menu's	the menus
de baby	de baby's	the babies

Some nouns that end in 'u' can take both -en and -s: individuen/individu's, residuen/residu's.

Do not add an apostrophe to nouns ending in a single -e, as this is a mute e.

de breedte	de breedtes	the widths
de boete	de boetes	the fines
de ziekte	de ziektes	the diseases

Exception: adjective-based nouns that refer to people get -n in their plural form:

de bekende	de bekenden	the known people
de gepensioneerde	de gepensioneerden	the retirees
de werkende	de werkenden	the working people

Sometimes, nouns ending in a mute e are given an -en ending. However, this cannot be done to all nouns so if you want to play it safe you better use the -s ending.

2. Nouns that end in an unstressed vowel combination.

The most common unstressed vowel combination you find at the end of a singular noun is ie. Other unstressed vowel combinations at the end of a noun are quite rare. In the table, the stressed syllables are underlined.

de repetitie	de repetities	the rehearsals
de visie	de visies	the visions
de bamboe	de bamboes	the bamboos

Exceptions: bacterie - bacteriën and chemicalie - chemicaliën ^[1]

3. Nouns that end in the unstressed endings -el, -em, -en, -er, -erd, -aar, -aard, or -um

In the table, the stressed syllables are underlined.

de lepel	de lepels	the spoons
de bezem	de bezems	the brooms
de keuken	de keukens	the kitchens
de wekker	de wekkers	the alarm clocks
de engerd	de engerds	the creeps
de gierigaard	de gierigaards	the scroogy persons
de wandelaar	de wandelaars^[2]	the (recreational) walkers
de geranium	de geraniums ^[3]	the geraniums

4. Nouns that end in the stressed endings -eur and -foon

In the table, the stressed syllables are underlined.

de monteur	de monteurs	the technicians
de carburateur	de carburateurs	the carburetter
de telefoon	de telefoons	the phones
de microfoon	de microfoons	the microphones

5. Person's titles or professions that end in -oor or -ier

de majoor	de majoors	the majors
de pastoor	de pastoors	the pastors
de bankier	de bankiers	the bankers
de kruidenier	de kruideniers	the grocers

6. Foreign words that also take the plural -s in their original language

The Dutch language has borrowed many words from English and French, where the plural is formed by adding -s.

de elektricien	de elektriciens	the electricians
het depot	de depots	the depots
de tram	de trams	the trams
het duel	de duels	the duels

7. Names of letters and acronyms

Add an apostrophe between the letter/acronym and the -s ending.

de BV	de BV's	the ltd's
de cd	de cd's	the cd's
a	a's	a's
b	b's	b's

Exception: acronyms and letters that already end in an -s sound get -en (note the apostrophe!).

de x	de x'en	the x'es
de s	de s'en	the s'es
de HTS	de HTS'en	the technical colleges
de vwx	de vwx'en	non-existent acronym

Notes:
[1] Note that we do not add -en, but only -n. The reason for this is that the last syllable is unstressed. Had it been stressed, as in genie (genius), we would have added -en: genieën.
[2] In Dutch as it is spoken in Holland, many -but not all- words that end in -aar get the ending -en instead of -s. They do this for words like eigenaren (owners), leraren (teachers), and ambtenaren (civil servants). The Flemmish are more consistent in using the -s ending.
[3] Several Latin -um nouns can also take -a as the plural ending.