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Plural of Mongoose
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The Quick Answer
The plural of mongoose is mongooses or mongeese.The Plural of Mongoose
The plural of mongoose is mongooses or mongeese.- Mongooses live in southern Asia, Africa, and southern Europe.
- Mongeese mostly feed on insects, crabs, earthworms, lizards, birds, and rodents.
(Mongeese is not a common plural but is cited as an alternative plural in many leading dictionaries.)
Are You Good at Plurals?
Here's a quick test.The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals
The table below shows the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.| Type | Example of Type | Forming the Plural | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Nouns |  mongoose scythe |
add s | mongooses scythes |
| Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z | bus dress |
add es | buses dresses |
| Nouns ending [consonant] o | mango zero tomato |
add either s or es (There are no rules for this - you have to know.) |
mangoes or mangos zeros tomatoes |
| Nouns ending [vowel] o | patio ratio
|
add s | patios ratios |
| Nouns ending [consonant] y | story penny |
change the y to an i and add es | stories pennies |
| Nouns ending [vowel] y | storey ( ) donkey
|
add s | storeys donkeys |
| Nouns ending f or fe | dwarf knife
|
ves and/or s (There are no rules - you have to know.) |
dwarfs knives |
| Exceptions | mongoose louse
|
some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change |
mongeese lice |
| More exceptions | salmon sheep
|
some nouns do not change at all | salmon sheep |
Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Mongoose?
Confusion arises over the plural of mongoose because many believe that mongeese (formed using the plural of goose) is an error.Both mongooses and mongeese are acceptable. Of note, mongooses is by far the more common plural. (See the evidence in Google's Ngram Viewer.)
Another Interactive Exercise
Here are three randomly selected questions from another exercise on plurals, which can be edited, printed to create an exercise worksheet, or sent via email to friends or students.- Do you disagree with something on this page?
- Did you spot a typo?