Plural Nouns
பன்மைச் சொற்கள்
Tamil's plural marker -கள் is always pronounced, no exceptions. French plurals are mostly written but silent — you often can't hear the difference between singular and plural at all, and have to listen to the article instead.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
Regular plural: +s, but silent
le livre → les livres (the -s is written, not pronounced)
தமிழில் -கள் எப்போதும் ஒலிக்கும்; French -s பெரும்பாலும் ஒலிக்காது
Most French nouns simply add -s in writing to form the plural, but that final -s is silent in speech. le livre and les livres sound almost identical except for the article: luh leev-ruh vs lay leev-ruh. This is the opposite of Tamil, where புத்தகம் → புத்தகங்கள் is always audibly different — in French, your ear has to catch the article, not the noun ending.
-eau / -eu → +x
le bateau → les bateaux (boat), le jeu → les jeux (game)
-eau/-eu முடிவுள்ள சொற்கள் பன்மையில் -x எடுக்கும்
Nouns ending in -eau or -eu take -x instead of -s in the plural (still silent). This is just a spelling convention inherited from Old French — there's no meaningful sound difference from the regular +s pattern, but you need it to spell correctly.
-al → -aux
le cheval → les chevaux (horse), le journal → les journaux (newspaper)
-al முடிவுள்ள சொற்கள் பெரும்பாலும் -aux ஆக மாறும்
Most nouns ending in -al swap that ending for -aux in the plural — this one is actually audible, unlike the silent -s/-x patterns. A handful of common exceptions keep the regular +s (le bal → les bals, le festival → les festivals), so this pattern needs to be learned noun by noun, not applied blindly.
Invariable nouns
le fils → les fils (son/sons), la souris → les souris (mouse/mice)
-s, -x, -z முடிவுள்ள சொற்கள் மாறாமலேயே பன்மையாகும்
Nouns that already end in -s, -x, or -z in the singular don't change at all in the plural — le fils and les fils are spelled and pronounced identically, with only the article (le vs les) telling you the number. This makes the article doubly important as your main plural signal in speech.
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
| French | Pronunciation | Tamil | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| les livres | lay leev-ruh | புத்தகங்கள்puttakaṅkaḷ | books |
| les tables | lay TAH-bluh | மேசைகள்mēsaikaḷ | tables |
| les bateaux | lay bah-TOH | படகுகள்paṭakukaḷ | boats |
| les jeux | lay zhuh | விளையாட்டுகள்viḷaiyāṭṭukaḷ | games |
| les chevaux | lay shuh-VOH | குதிரைகள்kudhiraikaḷ | horses |
| les journaux | lay zhoor-NOH | செய்தித்தாள்கள்seydhitthāḷkaḷ | newspapers |
| les bals | lay bahl | நடன நிகழ்ச்சிகள்naṭaṉa nikaḻchsikaḷ | dances/balls |
| les fils | lay fees | மகன்கள்makaṉkaḷ | sons |
| les souris | lay soo-REE | எலிகள்elikaḷ | mice |
| les nez | lay nay | மூக்குகள்mūkkukaḷ | noses |