---
title: "Plurals with -s"
level: A1
chapter: "Nouns and de or het"
canonical: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/plural-s
updated: 2026-10-08
author: Dutch Fluency
license: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
---

# Plurals with -s

Many Dutch nouns form their plural (the form for more than one) with _-s_. This is usual for nouns ending in an unstressed (said without emphasis) _-el_, _-em_, _-en_ or _-er_, for diminutives (small forms) in _-je_, and for many borrowed words: _tafels_, _meisjes_, _films_. After a single final a, i, o or u, write _'s_: _auto's_.

## The pattern

> Most nouns with an unstressed _-el_, _-em_, _-en_ or _-er_ at the end, all diminutives and many loanwords take _-s_. After a single final a, i, o or u, or a y after a consonant, the _-s_ becomes _'s_.

- Weak endings: _de tafel_, _tafels_; _de bezem_, _bezems_ (brooms); _de jongen_, _jongens_; _de kamer_, _kamers_.
- Diminutives: _het meisje_, _meisjes_; _het broodje_, _broodjes_ (bread rolls).
- Loanwords (borrowed words): _de computer_, _computers_; _de film_, _films_; _het hotel_, _hotels_.
- With _'s_: _de auto_, _auto's_; _de taxi_, _taxi's_; _de baby_, _baby's_.
- No apostrophe after a vowel combination: _het cadeau_, _cadeaus_ (presents); _het essay_, _essays_.

## Examples

| In de keuken staan twee **tafels**. | There are two tables in the kitchen. |
| De **jongens** fietsen naar school. | The boys cycle to school. |
| Fatima koopt zes **broodjes**. | Fatima buys six bread rolls. |
| Daan kijkt graag **films**. | Daan likes watching films. |
| Voor het huis staan drie **auto's**. | There are three cars in front of the house. |
| In de trein huilen twee **baby's**. | Two babies are crying on the train. |
| Sanne krijgt veel **cadeaus**. | Sanne gets a lot of presents. |

## Why it works this way

Word stress (which part of a word you say loudest) helps explain the weak endings. _De bel_ (doorbell) is one stressed beat and gets the usual ending from [Plurals with -en](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/plural-en): _bellen_. In _tafel_ the last beat is already a soft "uh". A second soft beat would drag, so _tafels_ just adds a quick _-s_. Many loanwords take _-s_ even with stress at the end: _hotels_.

This is a strong tendency, not an iron law: a few nouns with a weak ending take _-en_, such as _de engel_, _engelen_ (angel). Learn each noun with its plural, and find the real rebels in [Irregular plurals](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/irregular-plurals).

Remember: the apostrophe is a small fence around a single vowel letter at the end, so nobody reads _autos_ with a short o, as in _bos_. A vowel combination needs no fence: _cadeaus_.

## Watch out

- Not: _drie kameren_ Say: _drie kamers_ (weak last syllable, so just _-s_)
- Not: _de autos_ Say: _de auto's_ (the apostrophe keeps the o long)
- Not: _twee cadeau's_ Say: _twee cadeaus_ (no apostrophe after a vowel combination)
- Not: _veel boeks_ Say: _veel boeken_ (English habit: _boek_ takes _-en_)

## Quick check

1. Fill in the plural: Joris heeft twee ... . (sleutel)
2. Choose: Mei bestelt twee (pizzas / pizza's / pizzaën).
3. Fill in the plural: Carlos koopt vier ... . (broodje)
4. Fix the sentence: Ahmed werkt met drie laptop's.

## Answers

1. _sleutels_ (unstressed _-el_)
2. _pizza's_ (single final a)
3. _broodjes_ (diminutives take _-s_)
4. _Ahmed werkt met drie laptops._ (no apostrophe after a consonant)

## Use it today

Write your next shopping list in Dutch with at least four s-plurals, such as _zes broodjes_, _twee pizza's_ and _vier appels_. Say each item out loud in the supermarket.

## Questions learners ask

**When do Dutch nouns get -s in the plural?**

Mostly when the noun ends in an unstressed -el, -em, -en or -er, or is a diminutive in -je, as in tafels and meisjes. Many borrowed words, such as computers and films, also take -s.

**Why do you write auto's with an apostrophe in Dutch?**

When an s-plural follows a single final a, i, o or u, or a y after a consonant, Dutch writes 's so the final vowel keeps its sound. Without it, autos would be read with a short o.

**Is it cadeaus or cadeau's in Dutch?**

It is cadeaus. Words ending in a vowel combination, such as cadeau and bureau, take s without an apostrophe.

From the Dutch Fluency Grammar: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.