POST Written Communication and Grammar 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An officer writes: 'The suspect fled on foot, then him and his partner were apprehended.' What is the grammatical error?
- Incorrect verb tense
- Incorrect pronoun case ('him' should be 'he') (Correct answer)
- Comma splice
- Dangling modifier
Correct answer: Incorrect pronoun case ('him' should be 'he')
In a compound subject, the nominative pronoun 'he' must be used, not the objective 'him.'
Question 2: Which sentence uses the passive voice correctly in a police report context?
- The officer ran toward the suspect.
- Evidence was collected by Detective Harris. (Correct answer)
- The witness gave a statement at the scene.
- Dispatch notified patrol units at 0300.
Correct answer: Evidence was collected by Detective Harris.
Passive voice places the action's recipient first; 'Evidence was collected by Detective Harris' is a valid passive construction.
Question 3: What does the term 'chronological order' mean in report writing?
- Organizing events from most to least important
- Organizing events in the order they occurred (Correct answer)
- Organizing events alphabetically by witness name
- Organizing events by severity of crime
Correct answer: Organizing events in the order they occurred
Chronological order presents events in the sequence they happened, which is the standard for incident reports.
Question 4: Which of the following is an example of a compound sentence?
- The officer arrived at the scene.
- After the suspect fled, units were dispatched.
- The officer secured the perimeter, and backup arrived within minutes. (Correct answer)
- Running toward the vehicle, the officer shouted a warning.
Correct answer: The officer secured the perimeter, and backup arrived within minutes.
A compound sentence joins two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction such as 'and.'
Question 5: An officer's report states: 'The victim was very unique in her description of events.' What is wrong with this sentence?
- 'Very' is misspelled
- 'Unique' cannot be modified by 'very' because unique is absolute (Correct answer)
- The sentence is in passive voice
- There is a subject-verb disagreement
Correct answer: 'Unique' cannot be modified by 'very' because unique is absolute
Unique means one of a kind, so it cannot be intensified with 'very'; something is either unique or it is not.
Question 6: In a police report, which word best replaces the vague term 'thing' to improve clarity?
- Item
- Object
- The specific noun naming what was observed (Correct answer)
- Stuff
Correct answer: The specific noun naming what was observed
Precise, specific nouns improve clarity and credibility; replacing 'thing' with the actual name of the item is always preferred.
Question 7: Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon?
- The suspect was arrested; for trespassing.
- The officer filed the report; however, the case remained open. (Correct answer)
- Evidence was; collected at the scene.
- The witness; refused to provide a statement.
Correct answer: The officer filed the report; however, the case remained open.
A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses, especially when the second begins with a conjunctive adverb like 'however.'
POST Written Communication and Grammar 2
An officer writes: 'The suspect fled on foot, then him and his partner were apprehended.' What is the grammatical error?