California POST Test Grammar and Punctuation 5

Question 1

Which sentence correctly uses 'its' versus 'it's'?

Accepted Answer

The department updated its policy manual.

Answer

'Its' is the possessive pronoun; 'it's' is a contraction of 'it is' or 'it has.'

Question 2

Choose the sentence that is written in past perfect tense.

Accepted Answer

The officer had filed the report before the shift ended.

Answer

Past perfect tense uses 'had' plus a past participle to show an action completed before another past action.

Question 3

Which sentence avoids wordiness and redundancy?

Accepted Answer

The suspect attempted to flee the scene.

Answer

'The suspect attempted to flee the scene' conveys the same meaning concisely without redundant phrases.

Question 4

Which punctuation mark should end an indirect question?

Accepted Answer

A period

Answer

Indirect questions are statements that report a question, so they end with a period, not a question mark.

Question 5

Which sentence correctly forms the plural possessive of 'witness'?

Accepted Answer

The witnesses' testimonies were recorded.

Answer

The plural of 'witness' is 'witnesses'; to show possession, add only an apostrophe after the final 's.'

California POST Test Practice Test