Nouns form the plural with
the help of the suffixes – e; – (e)n; – er or – s. Some nouns
form the plural without a suffix; others with an umlaut (change) of the
root vowel.
a) With the suffix – e form the plural in most cases monosyllabic
nouns. Nouns of masculine and neuter gender receive an umlaut.
der Schrank – die Schränke (Schrank m, ¨e)
die Hand – die Hände
das Jahr – die Jahre
b) with the suffix – (e)n form the plural nouns
of all three genders, but the suffix is typical for feminine gender:
die Rose – die Rosen
das Hemd – die Hemden
der Staat – die Staaten
c) with the suffix – er and an umlaut primarily nouns of neuter gender and
some of masculine gender:
das Haus – die Häuser
der Geist – die Geister
d) without a suffix or without an umlaut – nouns of masculine and neuter gender,
which end in – er, – el, – en :
der Garten – die Gärten
das Messer – die Messer
e) nouns of foreign origin form the plural with
the suffix – s:
das Kino – die Kinos