The children chased all the … away.

Analyze the question The sentence needs the correct plural form of "goose". The phrase "all the ___" signals that more than one goose is meant.

Explain the concept Most English nouns form their plural by adding -s or -es. A small group of nouns have irregular plurals, which change the vowel sound inside the word. Examples:

• man → men
• foot → feet
• tooth → teeth
• mouse → mice
• goose → geese

Show the solution

1. "All the ___" requires a plural noun, so "goose" (A) is out.
2. "Gooses" (B) wrongly adds -s to an irregular noun, so it is not a word in standard English.
3. "Geeses" (C) adds -s to a plural that is already correct (a double plural), so it is also wrong.
4. "Geese" (D) is the correct irregular plural.

Sentence: The children chased all the geese away.

Answer: D. geese

Tip Remember the pairs "foot/feet, tooth/teeth, goose/geese": the oo changes to ee. If a plural already shows the change inside the word, never add -s to it. JAMB often tests these irregular plurals, so also review child/children, ox/oxen, and louse/lice.