English Singulars and French Plurals

Nouns are not always singular in both French and English. Here is a list of words that are singular or uncountable, or have unmarked plurals in English but are plural or countable in French.

advice   conseils

ammunition   munitions

asparagus   asperges

audience   spectateurs, auditeurs

baggage, luggage   bagages

broccoli   brocolis

business   affaires

to cause damage   causer des dégâts

cereal   céréales

chess   échecs

clothing   vêtements

contact information / name and address   coordonnées

damage   dommage(s),*   dégâts

darkness   ténèbres

data**   données

debris   débris

deer   cerf(s), biche(s)***

deposit   arrhes

to do research   faire des recherches

engagement   fiançailles

evidence   preuve(s)****

to feel remorse   éprouver des remords

fish   poisson(s)***

food   vivres, victuailles

forecast   prévisions

fruit   fruit(s)****

funeral   funérailles, obsèques

furniture   meubles

garbage, rubbish   déchets, ordures

gift (for Christmas or New Year's)   étrennes

graffiti   graffitis

hair   cheveux

havoc   ravages

hay   foins*

herringbone   chevrons

holiday(s) (British English)   vacances

homework   devoirs

income   revenu(s), rente(s)*

information   informations, renseignements

knowledge   connaissances*

lovemaking   ébats amoureux/sexuels

math (American English)   maths

medicine   médicaments

offal   abats

pasta   pâtes

period (to have one's period)   règles (avoir ses règles)

progress   progrès*

quicksand   sables mouvants

rubble   décombres

science   sciences*

sheep   mouton(s)***

shrimp   crevettes

software   logiciel(s)****

spaghetti   spaghettis

spinach   épinards

static   parasites

there's a good chance that…   il y a de fortes chances que…

transportation   transports

vacation   vacances

vicinity   environs

volcanic smoke and gas   fumerolles*

wedding   noces*

*These are usually but not always plural in French
**Data is actually the plural of datum, but it is commonly used as a singular noun in English
***The plurals of these nouns are unmarked in English
****These nouns are uncountable in English but countable in French

In addition, adjectives that are used as nouns when referring to a group of people do not have an s in English, though they do in French:

the dead   les morts

the living   les vivants

the poor   les pauvres

the rich   les riches

the sick   les malades

the young   les jeunes

etc


If you can think of any other singular/uncountable English nouns that are plural in French, please let me know and I'll add them here.

English singulars, French plurals | French singulars, English plurals

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