Spelling & Grammar

Which sentence contains a spelling error? A) The officer maintained his postion at the scene. B) The witness provided crucial evidence. C) The investigation was thorough. D) No errors.

• AA✓
• BB
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'Postion' is misspelled; it should be 'position'. That error sits in the sentence about the officer maintaining his position at the scene, while the other two sentences are clean, so 'No errors' does not apply. Choose the option reading 'A'.

Which sentence is grammatically correct? A) The police officers was called to the scene. B) The police officers were called to the scene. C) The police officers are been called to the scene. D) The police officers calling to the scene.

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'Officers' is plural, so it takes the plural verb: 'The police officers were called to the scene.' The 'was called' version pairs a singular verb with a plural subject, and 'are been called' and 'calling to the scene' are not grammatical. Choose the option reading 'B'.

Which word is spelled incorrectly? A) Witness B) Suspecious C) Evidence D) Detention

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'Suspecious' is the misspelling; it should be 'suspicious'. 'Witness', 'evidence' and 'detention' are all spelled correctly. Choose the option reading 'B'.

Which sentence has a comma splice? A) The officer arrived at the scene; he assessed the situation. B) The officer arrived at the scene, and he assessed the situation. C) The officer arrived at the scene, he assessed the situation. D) The officer arrived at the scene and assessed the situation.

• AA
• BB
• CC✓
• DD

Answer: 'The officer arrived at the scene, he assessed the situation' is a comma splice: two independent clauses joined by a comma alone. The semicolon version is correct, the 'and' version is correct, and 'arrived at the scene and assessed the situation' is a simple compound predicate. Choose the option reading 'C'.

Which sentence is spelled correctly? A) The detainee was transported to the polce station. B) The detainee was transported to the police station. C) The detainee was transported to the polic station. D) The detainee was transportd to the police station.

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: Only 'The detainee was transported to the police station' is spelled correctly throughout. The others contain 'polce', 'polic' and 'transportd'. Choose the option reading 'B'.

Which sentence uses the correct past tense? A) The officer has went to the scene. B) The officer have gone to the scene. C) The officer has gone to the scene. D) The officer had went to the scene.

• AA
• BB
• CC✓
• DD

Answer: 'The officer has gone to the scene' is the correct present perfect. 'Has went' and 'had went' use the past tense instead of the past participle, and 'have gone' takes a plural subject. Choose the option reading 'C'.

Identify the spelling error: 'The officer proceded with the investigation in acordance with procedures.'

• Aproceded
• Bacordance
• CBoth A and B✓
• DNo errors

Answer: 'Proceded' should be 'proceeded' and 'acordance' should be 'accordance'. Both words are misspelled, so the 'Both A and B' choice is the correct one.

Which is the most formal way to write this: A) The suspect dont have an alibi. B) The suspect doesn't have an alibi. C) The suspect don't have an alibi. D) The suspect hasn't have an alibi.

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'The suspect doesn't have an alibi' uses the correct contraction of 'does not' with a singular subject. 'Dont' is missing its apostrophe, 'don't have' needs a plural subject, and 'hasn't have' is not a valid verb form. Choose the option reading 'B'.

Which sentence contains a spelling error? A) The officer witnessed the incedent. B) The officer witnessed the incident. C) The statement was relevant. D) The arrest was appropriate.

• AA✓
• BB
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'Incedent' should be 'incident'. The other three sentences are spelled correctly.

Which sentence is grammatically correct? A) Between you and I, the case is difficult. B) Between you and me, the case is difficult. C) Me and you think the case is difficult. D) You and me believes the case is difficult.

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'Between' is a preposition, so it takes the object form: 'Between you and me, the case is difficult.' 'Between you and I' uses the subject form, and the 'Me and you think' and 'You and me believes' versions are ungrammatical too. Choose the option reading 'B'.

Which spelling is correct? A) Sargeant B) Sergeant C) Sergent D) Seargent

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'Sergeant' is correct - it keeps the 'ser' opening and the 'geant' ending. 'Sargeant' swaps in an a, 'Sergent' drops the a, and 'Seargent' moves it before the g.

Which sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error? A) The officers investigates the crime scene. B) The officers investigate the crime scene. C) The officer investigates the crime scene. D) The officers have investigated the crime scene.

• AA✓
• BB
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'The officers investigates' pairs a plural subject with a singular verb. The other three all agree: plural officers with 'investigate' and 'have investigated', singular officer with 'investigates'.

Which spelling is correct? A) Licenced B) Licensed C) Licesed D) Lisensed

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'Licensed' is correct: in British English 'licence' is the noun and 'license' the verb, so the past participle takes an s. 'Licenced' uses the noun's c, 'Licesed' drops the n, and 'Lisensed' swaps the c for an s in the wrong place.

Which sentence uses apostrophes correctly? A) The officer's reports are detailed. B) The officers reports are detailed. C) The officers' reports are detailed. D) The officer reports' are detailed.

• AA
• BB
• CC✓
• DD

Answer: 'The officers' reports are detailed' uses the plural possessive, which is right when several officers own the reports. 'Officer's' is the singular possessive, 'officers' has no apostrophe at all, and 'reports'' attaches the apostrophe to the wrong word. Choose the option reading 'C'.

Identify the error: 'The detainee's statement was taken, but he's account was inconsistent.'

• Adetainee's
• Bhe's✓
• CNo errors
• DBoth A and B

Answer: 'He's' is a contraction of 'he is' or 'he has'; the sentence needs the possessive 'his'. 'Detainee's' is a correct possessive, so 'he's' is the only error.

Which word is spelled correctly? A) Occured B) Occurred C) Ocured D) Ocurred

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'Occurred' doubles both the r and the final consonant before -ed. 'Occured' has a single r, 'Ocurred' a single c, and 'Ocured' drops one of each.

Which sentence is punctuated correctly? A) The investigation included interviews with witnesses; suspects; and victims. B) The investigation included interviews with witnesses, suspects, and victims. C) The investigation included interviews with witnesses and suspects and victims. D) The investigation; included; interviews; with; witnesses.

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'The investigation included interviews with witnesses, suspects, and victims' punctuates the list correctly with commas. Semicolons are not used for a simple list, the repeated-'and' version is clumsy, and the version that breaks every word with semicolons is plainly wrong. Choose the option reading 'B'.

Which sentence has the correct word choice? A) The suspect was already at the seen. B) The suspect was already at the scene. C) The suspect was all ready at the scene. D) The suspect was already at the sene.

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'The suspect was already at the scene' is right: 'already' means before now and 'scene' is the location. 'Seen' is the past participle of 'see', 'all ready' means fully prepared, and 'sene' is a misspelling. Choose the option reading 'B'.

Identify the error in this sentence: 'The officer could of prevented the incident.'

• ANo errors
• Bcould of✓
• Cprevented
• Dincident

Answer: 'Could of' should be 'could have' - a common slip made by writing what the phrase sounds like. 'Prevented' and 'incident' are both fine, so 'could of' is the error.

Which sentence is correct? A) Their going to the station. B) They're going to the station. C) There going to the station. D) Theyre going to the station.

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'They're going to the station' is correct: 'they're' is the contraction of 'they are'. 'Their' is possessive, 'there' is a location, and 'Theyre' is missing its apostrophe. Choose the option reading 'B'.

Which word is misspelled? A) Accommodate B) Conscientious C) Recieve D) Persistence

• AA
• BB
• CC✓
• DD

Answer: 'Recieve' should be 'receive' - 'i' before 'e' except after 'c' (a rule with its own exceptions). 'Accommodate', 'Conscientious' and 'Persistence' are all spelled correctly. Choose the option reading 'C'.

Which sentence uses 'which' and 'that' correctly? A) The suspect, that we arrested, is guilty. B) The suspect, which we arrested, is guilty. C) The arrest, which was made yesterday, resulted in charges. D) The arrest which was made yesterday is now closed.

• AA
• BB
• CC✓
• DD

Answer: A non-defining clause takes a comma and 'which', which is what the arrest sentence with commas does. Using 'that' inside commas is wrong, 'which' cannot refer to a person, and a defining clause with no commas needs 'that', not 'which'.

Identify the spelling error: A) Conscientious B) Maintenance C) Surveillance D) Reccommend

• AA
• BB
• CC
• DD✓

Answer: 'Reccommend' is misspelled; should be 'recommend' with one 'c'. The others are spelled correctly.

Which sentence has correct punctuation? A) The officer arrived, and he examined the scene. B) The officer arrived and he examined the scene. C) The officer arrived, he examined the scene. D) The officer arrived; and he examined the scene.

• AA✓
• BB
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'The officer arrived, and he examined the scene' is correct: use a comma before a coordinating conjunction that joins two independent clauses. Dropping the comma is weak, joining the clauses with a comma alone is a comma splice, and a semicolon followed by 'and' is redundant. Choose the option reading 'A'.

Which word is spelled correctly? A) Equiptment B) Equipment C) Equipement D) Equpment

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'Equipment' is the correct spelling; 'Equiptment', 'Equipement' and 'Equpment' are all wrong. Choose the option reading 'B'.

Identify the grammatical error: 'Neither the officer nor the suspect was willing to speak.'

• ANeither...nor construction
• BNo errors✓
• Cwas willing
• Dto speak

Answer: This sentence is correct. 'Neither...nor' is properly paired, and 'was' agrees with the singular subject (when using neither/nor, the verb agrees with the nearest noun, which is 'suspect').

Which sentence is most grammatically correct? A) The witness accounts and the physical evidence suggests guilt. B) The witness account and the physical evidence suggest guilt. C) The witness accounts and the physical evidence suggest guilt. D) The witness accounts or the physical evidence suggests guilt.

• AA
• BB
• CC✓
• DD

Answer: 'The witness accounts and the physical evidence suggest guilt' is right: two subjects joined by 'and' take the plural verb 'suggest'. The 'accounts ... suggests' version uses a singular verb, the 'account ... suggest' version quietly makes the noun singular, and swapping 'and' for 'or' changes the logic. Choose the option reading 'C'.

Which word choice is correct in this context: 'The officer made a (conscious/conscience) decision.'

• Aconscious✓
• BEither is acceptable
• Cconscience
• DNeither is appropriate

Answer: 'Conscious' means aware; 'conscience' means a sense of right and wrong. The officer made an aware decision, so 'conscious' is the right word here.

Identify the error: 'The investigation concluded that the evidence was insubstanctial.'

• ANo errors
• Bconcluded
• Cinsubstanctial✓
• Dinvestigation

Answer: 'Insubstanctial' is misspelled; it should be 'insubstantial'. Nothing else in the sentence is wrong, so 'insubstanctial' is the error.

Which sentence is punctuated correctly? A) The officer; the suspect; and the witness were present. B) The officer, the suspect, and the witness were present. C) The officer the suspect and the witness were present. D) The officer - the suspect - and the witness were present.

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'The officer, the suspect, and the witness were present' punctuates the list correctly with commas. Semicolons belong in longer or already-punctuated lists, the version with no commas runs the items together, and the dashes version is awkward. Choose the option reading 'B'.

Which spelling is correct? A) Separate B) Seperate C) Seprate D) Separite

• AA✓
• BB
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'Separate' is the correct spelling - remember there is an 'a' in the middle, not an 'e'. 'Seperate', 'Seprate' and 'Separite' are all wrong. Choose the option reading 'A'.

Which sentence contains a spelling error? A) The perpetrator was apprehended at the scene. B) The perpetrator was apprehendedd at the scene. C) The perpetrator was apprehended by two officers. D) The perpetrator was apprehended near the station.

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'Apprehendedd' carries a doubled final d. The other three are spelled correctly.

Which sentence uses the subjunctive mood correctly? A) If I was the officer, I would have investigated. B) If I were the officer, I would have investigated. C) If I am the officer, I would have investigated. D) If I was the officer, I will have investigated.

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'If I were the officer, I would have investigated' uses the subjunctive 'were' for a contrary-to-fact conditional. 'If I was', 'If I am' and the 'will have investigated' version all use incorrect verb forms. Choose the option reading 'B'.

Identify the spelling error: A) Definitely B) Ocassion C) Necessary D) Preferred

• AA
• BB✓
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'Ocassion' should be 'occasion', with a double 'c' and a single 's'. 'Definitely', 'Necessary' and 'Preferred' are all spelled correctly. Choose the option reading 'B'.

Which sentence is correct? A) The officers filed their reports at the station. B) The officers filed there reports at the station. C) The officers filed they're reports at the station. D) The officers filed thier reports at the station.

• AA✓
• BB
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'Their' is the possessive form needed before 'reports'. 'There' refers to a place, 'they're' is short for 'they are', and 'thier' is simply a misspelling.

Which word is misspelled? A) Misspell B) Dissatisfy C) Begining D) Unnecessary

• AA
• BB
• CC✓
• DD

Answer: 'Begining' should be 'beginning', with a double 'n'. 'Misspell', 'Dissatisfy' and 'Unnecessary' are all spelled correctly. Choose the option reading 'C'.

Which sentence uses pronouns correctly? A) Him and I conducted the interview. B) He and me conducted the interview. C) He and I conducted the interview. D) Me and him conducted the interview.

• AA
• BB
• CC✓
• DD

Answer: 'He and I conducted the interview' is correct: both pronouns sit in the subject position, so both take the subject form. 'Him and I', 'He and me' and 'Me and him' each mix subject and object forms. Choose the option reading 'C'.

Identify the error: 'The officers' statements was contradictory.'

• Awas✓
• BNo errors
• Cofficers'
• Dcontradictory

Answer: 'Was' should be 'were': the subject 'statements' is plural. 'Officers'' is a correct plural possessive and 'contradictory' is fine, so 'was' is the error.

Which word is spelled correctly? A) Bureaucrat B) Beaurocrat C) Burocrat D) Bureacrat

• AA✓
• BB
• CC
• DD

Answer: 'Bureaucrat' keeps the French 'bureau' intact and adds -crat. 'Beaurocrat' reverses the a and u, 'Burocrat' drops the second vowel pair entirely, and 'Bureacrat' loses the u after the e.

Which sentence has a misplaced modifier? A) The officer arriving late missed the briefing. B) Arriving late, the officer missed the briefing. C) The officer missed the briefing arriving late. D) Arriving late for the briefing, the officer missed it.

• AA
• BB
• CC✓
• DD

Answer: 'The officer missed the briefing arriving late' misplaces the modifier: 'arriving late' appears to describe the briefing rather than the officer. The other three sentences attach 'arriving late' to the officer. Choose the option reading 'C'.