Mad about plurals—a gaggle of geese.
What is the plural of goose? Did you say, gooses?
Unfortunately, it is not. (If only the English language was that simple—how boring it would be. 😄)
The plural of goose is ‘geese’.
So, one goose, two geese.
You are ready now, my friend, to go out into the world in strong command of the plural of ‘goose’.
But, but… hold on a minute, not so fast.
In English, we can also refer to a group of people or things by a single noun.
So, one man, two men, a group of men.
One dog, two dogs, a pack of dogs.
One aircraft, two aircraft, a squadron of aircraft.
Cool. Now knowing that, we can refer to a group of geese
(one goose, two geese, a–what?–of geese)
How would we refer to a group of geese?
Answer: this is where it gets complicated. 🙄
How we refer to a group of geese depends on whether or not the geese are flying!
If they are flying, we call the group a flock of geese.
If the geese are on the ground, we call the group a gaggle of geese.
Spot the difference:
Well, I hope all that is clear and that now, you are a master of the plural of the noun, ‘goose’.
By the way…
What is the plural of moose? Did you say “meese”?
Nope, sorry, you’re wrong.
“Okay,” you say, “is it mooses?”
Nope, sorry, it isn’t.
“Oh alright,” you say tiredly. “Is it cows?”
🤣 Nope, most unfortunately, it is not.
Image shows a moose.
“So what is it?” you ask, now slightly annoyed.
It is… moose! Yes, it’s true. The plural of moose is ‘moose’.
Why?
Because. (And also because English is like that.)
No wonder English is so hard to learn. I have been speaking it all my life and still get it wrong. I had no Idea that things could be called different names based on what action they are performing. This is an awesome post. My question is, what are moose called when they are flying? I will be back when the English language causes me to stumble over things that just don’t make sense.
Thank you.
Hi Russ.
Your reply had me rocking in my chair. I seldom actually laugh out loud, but this time I was chortling away like a lunatic on laughing gas.
“What are moose called when they are flying?” It’s a long-winded name which, strangely enough, ends with a question mark: “Those-weren’t-ordinary-mushrooms-were-they?” 🤣🤣
I’m glad that you intend to return; I intend to enjoy welcoming you back quite as much as I’ve enjoyed having you visit today.
Take care,
Tayo
Hallo there,
I must say I gotta love your writing personality! Lol
I know a good deal of English but the way you explained the “goose” “geese” topic was really interesting as well as funny.
I love the humor and the way you make the teaching very human and conversational.
It really caught my attention. I am definitely going to bookmark this website to come learn new things in English (the fairly harder stuff) in a funny and interactive way. I liked your site a lot. Keep up the good work.
Hello Dave.
What lovely comments—I am grateful to you for them.
You have brought up one issue which is exercising my mind right now, and that is how to make the experience more interactive? I want very much to offer live quizzes, puzzles, japes and pranks and any other thing that makes learning a language fun, instead of stuffy and boring. I can’t honestly say that I’ve cracked it yet, but I am working on it.
Thank you very much for visiting, and I hope that I see you again soon. 😊
Kind regards,
Tayo
This is wonderfully crafted. It is amazing. Plurals of things in the English language are fun. goose to geese and moose too moose. That make my day. Thank you for this wonderful article though. Please write more of these. They are educative in a simple way. I like them so much.
Hello Michael.
Wow, thank you so much for your kind words—very encouraging. I certainly intend to write more short articles like this, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.
Kind regards,
Tayo