The fisherman said he sighted a … of fish in the river.

Analyze the question: This tests collective nouns, which are words used for groups of animals, people, or things. We need the one used for fish.

Explain the concept: In English, different groups take specific collective nouns:

• Pack: wolves, dogs, cards
• Colony: ants, bees, bats, penguins
• Shoal: fish
• Swarm: bees, locusts, flies, insects

Solution, option by option:

• A. pack: Used for wolves or hounds, not fish. ❌
• B. colony: Used for ants or bats. ❌
• C. shoal: The standard collective noun for fish swimming together. ✅
• D. swarm: Used for flying or crawling insects such as bees or locusts. ❌

So the sentence becomes: The fisherman said he sighted a shoal of fish in the river.

**Answer: C. shoal.

Tip: Link the word to the animal with a short phrase: "a shoal of fish," "a swarm of bees," "a pack of wolves," "a colony of ants." Collective noun questions appear often in WASSCE, JAMB and NECO, so make a short list and revise it regularly. Note that "school of fish" is also correct in English, but it wasn't among the options here.