It is important that you clear the refuse in front of your house every … ?

Analyze the question: This is a spelling question. You must pick the correctly spelled word meaning "a period of two weeks" (14 days).

Explain the concept: "Fortnight" comes from the Old English fēowertīene niht, meaning "fourteen nights". Over time it shortened to fort + night. Notice that the first part is spelled fort, not "four" and not "fir".

Check each option:

• A. fourtnight: wrong, because "four" is not used in the modern spelling.
• B. firtnight: wrong, because "fir" is not a part of the word.
• C. fourthninght: wrong, because it has an extra "h" and a misplaced "n".
• D. fortnight: correct, spelled f-o-r-t-n-i-g-h-t.

Solution: The sentence reads: "It is important that you clear the refuse in front of your house every fortnight." This means every two weeks, which makes sense.

Answer: D. fortnight.

Tip: Remember "fortnight = fourteen nights", but spell it with fort, dropping the "ur" and the "een". You can also remember that "fort" is the strong building, so fortnight is the "strong" short spelling. In spelling questions, watch for extra or missing letters, because JAMB often uses near-miss distractors.