NTN Police Writing and Grammar Skills 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence uses 'their', 'there', and 'they're' correctly?
- They're going to submit their reports over there. (Correct answer)
- Their going to submit they're reports over there.
- They're going to submit there reports over their.
- There going to submit their reports over they're.
Correct answer: They're going to submit their reports over there.
'They're' is a contraction for 'they are', 'their' shows possession, and 'there' refers to a place.
Question 2: In a police report, which transition word best shows cause and effect?
- consequently (Correct answer)
- meanwhile
- however
- furthermore
Correct answer: consequently
'Consequently' signals that a result or effect follows from a prior cause, making it the correct cause-and-effect transition.
Question 3: Which sentence is written in active voice?
- Officer Martinez secured the perimeter. (Correct answer)
- The perimeter was secured by Officer Martinez.
- The perimeter had been secured.
- Securing the perimeter was done by Officer Martinez.
Correct answer: Officer Martinez secured the perimeter.
In active voice, the subject (Officer Martinez) performs the action, which is preferred in police report writing for clarity and accountability.
Question 4: A trainee writes: 'Me and my partner responded to the call.' What is the correct revision?
- My partner and I responded to the call. (Correct answer)
- My partner and me responded to the call.
- I and my partner responded to the call.
- Me and my partner have responded to the call.
Correct answer: My partner and I responded to the call.
When the pronoun is part of the subject, use the subject pronoun 'I'; convention also places 'I' last out of politeness.
Question 5: Which of the following sentences contains a dangling modifier?
- Running down the street, the suspect's shoe fell off. (Correct answer)
- Running down the street, the suspect lost his shoe.
- The suspect, running down the street, lost his shoe.
- As the suspect ran down the street, his shoe fell off.
Correct answer: Running down the street, the suspect's shoe fell off.
In the first sentence, the participial phrase 'Running down the street' illogically modifies 'shoe' rather than the intended subject (the suspect).
Question 6: Which word correctly fills the blank? 'The evidence was ___ in the storage facility.'
- stored (Correct answer)
- storing
- store
- been stored
Correct answer: stored
'Stored' is the correct past participle used with the auxiliary 'was' to form a past passive construction.
Question 7: Which sentence demonstrates the correct use of a colon?
- The officer recovered three items: a wallet, a knife, and a cell phone. (Correct answer)
- The officer recovered: a wallet, a knife, and a cell phone.
- The recovered items were: a wallet a knife and a cell phone.
- Items recovered: were a wallet, a knife, and a cell phone.
Correct answer: The officer recovered three items: a wallet, a knife, and a cell phone.
A colon is properly used after a complete independent clause to introduce a list or further explanation.
NTN Police Writing and Grammar Skills 5
Which sentence uses 'their', 'there', and 'they're' correctly?