Singular where plural in English (Collective nouns)
La famille est heureuse
The family is/are happy
La police va arrêter le criminel
The police is going to arrest the criminal.
The police are going to arrest the criminal.
In English, what we call collective nouns (e.g. family, team, police, company, ...) can be followed by a verb either in singular or plural form, depending on whether we consider the group as a single unit (singular), or as the individuals forming the group (plural).
However, these collective nouns are always followed by singular in French.
Plural where singular in English
Note that words such as ''holiday'' (vacances) and ''hair'' (cheveux) are always plural in French. The adjectives or verbs following them are also in plural form.
Case of toilette(s)
Où sont les toilettes s’il vous plaît ?
Where is the toilet/restroom please?
Je fais ma toilette tous les matins.
I have a wash every morning.
I wash myself every morning.
Note that toilettes is always used in the plural to mean "the toilet/restroom".
La toilette (singular) in French means "a (personal) wash".
Examples and resources
Où sont les toilettes s’il vous plaît ?
Where is the toilet/restroom please?
Je fais ma toilette tous les matins.
I have a wash every morning.
I wash myself every morning.
Plural where singular in English
Je vais en vacances en juillet
I'm going on holiday in July
Elle a les cheveux blonds
She has blonde hair
Singular where plural in English
La famille est heureuse
The family is/are happy
La police va arrêter le criminel
The police is going to arrest the criminal.
The police are going to arrest the criminal.
Q&A

Ron
Kwiziq community member
19/09/17

Mary Anne
Kwiziq community member
20/09/17

Ron
Kwiziq community member
14/09/17

Gruff
Kwiziq language super star
25/07/17
alison
Kwiziq community member
25/07/17

Gruff
Kwiziq language super star
25/07/17

Gruff
Kwiziq language super star
22/03/17

Gruff
Kwiziq language super star
4/03/17

Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
6/05/16
Bonjour John,
Thanks for your question!
When talking in a general context, French people would use the term la police rather than la gendarmerie, as such:
La police va arrêter le criminel.
Actually, as a French speaker, I find that la gendarmerie refers more to the station than the people.
In this case, we would rather use les gendarmes when talking about them, so the following answer is also correct:
Les gendarmes vont arrêter le criminel.
I hope that's helpful.
Merci et à bientôt !

Laura
Kwiziq language super star
25/11/15
Bonjour Stephen, We get a lot of questions about things like this. Some English speakers say "the family is" while others say "the family are." You can read our policy here: https://www.french-test.com/is-this-english-correct
Revathi
Kwiziq community member
26/11/15

Jim
Kwiziq community member
22/04/18
Jay
Kwiziq community member
21 July 2018
1 reply
Understand 'les toilettes' when referring to public restrooms where there are probably more than one. But what about in homes where there is only one?
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
23 July 2018
23/07/18
Hi Jay,
'Toilettes' is always plural in French even in the home.
Other expressions you might hear is,
le/les cabinet/s but
'les toilettes' is the most used.
'Toilette', singular, means a wash.
Le chat fait sa toilette = The cat is having a wash
Hope this helps!