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'Cheval', 'chevaux': French nouns in '-al' and '-ail' in the plural

Most French nouns form their plural by adding a silent -s. Nouns ending in -al are different: they usually change their ending to -aux. One cheval becomes two chevaux, an animal becomes several animaux, and a journal becomes a pile of journaux. A small group of common words refuses to follow this pattern and simply adds -s: festivals, bals, chacals.

English speakers trip over this in two ways. First, English has nothing similar, so des chevals feels perfectly logical. Second, the change is not only written but also spoken: cheval ends in an L sound, while chevaux ends in an O sound. Nouns in -ail add one more twist, because only a few of them switch to -aux.

Word list
animalmA1 animal des animaux chevalmA1 horse des chevaux hôpitalmA1 hospital des hôpitaux journalmA1 newspaper des journaux travailmA1 work des travaux (-ail becomes -aux, also roadworks) ailmA2 garlic des ails (usually singular, old form: aulx) journalmA2 diary des journaux malmA2 pain des maux (des maux de tête = headaches) métalmA2 metal des métaux canalmB1 canal des canaux capitalmB1 capital des capitaux (usually plural) carnavalmB1 carnival des carnavals (exception) détailmB1 detail des détails (regular -ail) festivalmB1 festival des festivals (exception) littoralmB1 coast des littoraux minéralmB1 mineral des minéraux portailmB1 gate des portails (regular -ail) railmB1 rail des rails (regular -ail) balmB2 ball des bals (exception) cardinalmB2 cardinal des cardinaux chandailmB2 sweater des chandails (regular -ail) cristalmB2 crystal des cristaux tribunalmB2 courthouse des tribunaux chacalmC1 jackal des chacals (exception) épouvantailmC1 scarecrow des épouvantails (regular -ail) signal sonoremC1 beep des signaux sonores (signal becomes signaux) corailmC2 coral des coraux (-ail becomes -aux) marsupialmC2 marsupial des marsupiaux radicalmC2 radical des radicaux
How it works

For nouns in -al, take off -al and add -aux. The final L disappears from the pronunciation and the word now ends in an O sound: un animal, des animaux. Because you hear the difference, this plural matters in speech as well as in writing.

For nouns in -ail, the default is the opposite. Most of them just add -s, like ordinary nouns: un détail, des détails. Only a short list switches to -aux, and the one you will meet every day is travail, which becomes travaux.

So the rule of thumb is simple: -al usually becomes -aux, while -ail usually adds -s. Each side has a few exceptions worth learning by heart.

Il y a des chevaux dans le champ.
(There are horses in the field.)
On va à deux festivals cet été.
(We're going to two festivals this summer.)
The words
Nouns in -al that take -aux

This is the big group. It includes everyday words such as animal, cheval, hôpital, journal (both the newspaper and the diary) and métal. More advanced members include canal, cristal, minéral, tribunal, cardinal, capital (money, almost always used in the plural as capitaux), radical and littoral. The small but useful word mal belongs here too: un mal de tête, des maux de tête.

Mon fils adore les animaux.
(My son loves animals.)
Il y a deux hôpitaux dans cette ville.
(There are two hospitals in this town.)
Je lis les journaux le dimanche.
(I read the newspapers on Sundays.)
Le fer et le cuivre sont des métaux.
(Iron and copper are metals.)
Venise est célèbre pour ses canaux.
(Venice is famous for its canals.)
J'ai souvent des maux de tête le soir.
(I often get headaches in the evening.)
Nouns in -al that just add -s

These are the exceptions: festival, bal and chacal, plus carnaval and récital. Many of them are about events and entertainment, which can help you remember them.

Autrefois, les bals du samedi soir étaient très populaires.
(In the past, Saturday night dances were very popular.)
Nouns in -ail that take -aux

The list is short: travail and corail, along with vitrail and émail. Note that travaux often means roadworks or building work.

Les travaux dans la rue commencent lundi.
(The roadworks in the street start on Monday.)
Les coraux sont en danger.
(Corals are in danger.)
Nouns in -ail that just add -s

This is the normal case: détail, rail, portail and épouvantail all behave like ordinary nouns.

Il nous manque encore quelques détails.
(We're still missing a few details.)
Les épouvantails protègent les champs.
(The scarecrows protect the fields.)
Watch out

The most common mistake is writing or saying des chevals or des journals. Remember that the whole ending changes, so the L sound disappears. The reverse mistake also happens: once learners know the rule, they produce des festivaux. It's festivals, always.

With travail, the singular and plural can feel like different words. Le travail is work in general or a job, while les travaux usually means construction work or roadworks.

Ail (garlic) is a special case. It is normally used in the singular, as in une gousse d'ail (a clove of garlic). If you ever need a plural, ails is the usual modern form. You may also see the old form aulx in older texts.

Adjectives in -al usually follow the same pattern as the nouns: un parc national, des parcs nationaux. A few, like banal, just add -s.

Summary

Nouns in -al normally change to -aux in the plural, and you can hear it: un cheval, des chevaux. Learn the few that simply add -s, especially festivals, bals and chacals. Nouns in -ail work the other way round: they normally add -s (détails, portails), except for a handful such as travaux and coraux.