LAPD Writing Clarity and Grammar 3

Question 1

Which sentence correctly uses an apostrophe?

Accepted Answer

The officers' vehicles were searched.

Answer

'Officers'' is the correct plural possessive, showing that the vehicles belong to multiple officers.

Question 2

An officer writes: 'Running toward the vehicle, the gun was dropped.' What type of error is this?

Accepted Answer

Dangling modifier

Answer

This is a dangling modifier — the phrase 'running toward the vehicle' implies the gun was running, which is illogical.

Question 3

In a supplemental report, Officer Reyes states: 'Me and my partner responded to the call.' What correction is needed?

Accepted Answer

Change 'Me and my partner' to 'My partner and I'

Answer

When used as a subject, 'I' is correct; 'me' is an object pronoun and cannot serve as the subject of a verb.

Question 4

Which version of the sentence uses parallel structure correctly?

Accepted Answer

The suspect was tall, athletic, and dark-haired.

Answer

Parallel structure requires all items in a list to share the same grammatical form; 'tall, athletic, and dark-haired' are all adjectives.

Question 5

What is wrong with the following sentence? 'The victim stated that they seen the suspect leave.'

Accepted Answer

'Seen' should be 'saw' — incorrect verb form

Answer

'Seen' requires a helping verb (had seen); the simple past tense 'saw' is correct here.

(LAPD) Los Angeles Police Department Practice Test