-os

Plural OS After Sibilants

Level 1

Some masculine words ending in a sibilant form a plural in -os.

How It Works

Learn the plural with the noun: gos/gossos, mes/mesos and braç/braços. In gossos, doubled ss preserves the voiceless sound between vowels. Mesos has a single s and its usual voiced pronunciation. The ç of braç stays before o.

This is a family of patterns, not an instruction to add -os to every final s. Many words ending in unstressed -s have the same singular and plural form, as in el llapis/els llapis. Feminine words and other endings can follow different rules.

For adjectives, compare masculine feliços with feminine felices. Keep gender and number separate: the masculine plural ending cannot simply be copied to a feminine noun phrase. A dictionary is useful when a new word's plural is not predictable.

Examples (3)

  1. Els gossos juguen al jardí.

    The dogs are playing in the garden.

  2. Hi treballa des de fa tres mesos.

    She has worked there for three months.

  3. Aixeca els braços.

    Raise your arms.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-osLevel 1Plural OS After Sibilants

Learn This First

Recognize ç and the consonant spelling that plural -os follows.