Written Expression and Grammar Flashcards

Which word correctly completes the sentence? 'The officer had to ______ the situation before making an arrest.'

Answer: assess

'Assess' means to evaluate or appraise a situation, and is spelled with a double 's' twice.

Which sentence correctly uses a colon?

Answer: The officer needed the following items: a flashlight, handcuffs, and a radio.

A colon is correctly used after a complete independent clause to introduce a list.

Choose the sentence free of redundancy.

Answer: The victim described the attacker in detail.

'Described in detail' contains no redundancy, unlike 'repeated again,' 'returned back,' or 'advanced forward.'

Which sentence uses 'affect' and 'effect' correctly?

Answer: Stress can affect an officer's judgment.

'Affect' is typically a verb meaning to influence, and 'effect' is typically a noun meaning a result.

Which of the following is a run-on sentence?

Answer: The suspect ran the officer gave chase immediately.

'The suspect ran the officer gave chase immediately' fuses two independent clauses without proper punctuation or a conjunction.

Which version of the sentence is most concise and clear?

Answer: Because it was raining, the officer used his umbrella.

'Because' is a concise replacement for the wordy phrase 'due to the fact that.'

Which sentence correctly uses 'who' vs. 'whom'?

Answer: Who did the sergeant assign to the case?

'Who' is correct as the subject of the clause; if you can substitute 'he/she,' use 'who.'