Written Communication and Grammar Flashcards

An officer writes: 'Neither the witness statements nor the physical evidence support the suspect's alibi.' A supervisor flags this sentence for grammatical error. Which revision is correct?

Answer: Neither the witness statements nor the physical evidence supports the suspect's alibi.

With 'neither…nor' constructions, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it (the proximate rule). 'Physical evidence' is singular and closest to the verb, so the correct form is 'supports,' not 'support.' The original sentence incorrectly uses the plural verb 'support.'

In a formal police incident report, which sentence most effectively demonstrates the recommended use of passive versus active voice?

Answer: The officer observed the suspect entering the vehicle at 02:14 hours.

Police report writing standards recommend active voice because it clearly identifies who performed the action, is more concise, and reads with greater authority. 'The officer observed the suspect…' names the actor first and uses a strong active verb, avoiding the wordy passive constructions in the other options.

A police memo contains this sentence: 'The sergeant advised officers that their use-of-force reports, which were submitted last Tuesday, needs to be revised.' Identify ALL grammatical errors present.

Answer: Subject-verb disagreement only: 'reports…needs' should be 'reports…need'

The only actual grammatical error is subject-verb disagreement: the plural subject 'reports' requires the plural verb 'need,' not 'needs.' The relative clause 'which were submitted last Tuesday' is a non-restrictive clause that does not change the subject. 'Their' correctly refers to 'officers,' and 'were submitted' is an appropriate past passive construction given the context.

Which of the following sentences contains a dangling modifier that could create ambiguity in a police report?

Answer: Having secured the perimeter, the search of the premises began immediately.

'Having secured the perimeter' is a participial phrase that must logically modify the subject of the main clause. However, the subject of the main clause is 'the search,' which cannot secure a perimeter. This dangling modifier implies the search itself took the action. It should read: 'Having secured the perimeter, officers began the search of the premises immediately.'

A detective drafts the following for a court disclosure package: 'The informant's credibility, along with the corroborating surveillance footage, were the deciding factors in obtaining the warrant.' Which analysis is correct?

Answer: The verb should be 'was' because 'along with' is a parenthetical phrase, not a true conjunction, leaving 'credibility' as the singular subject.

'Along with' (like 'as well as,' 'in addition to,' and 'together with') is a preposition introducing a parenthetical phrase, NOT a coordinating conjunction like 'and.' It does not create a compound subject. The true grammatical subject remains the singular 'credibility,' so the correct verb is 'was.' This is a common error in formal report writing.

A senior constable submits a report containing: 'Between you and I, the chain of custody may have been compromised.' A staff sergeant corrects this before it is filed. What is the grammatical issue and the correct construction?

Answer: 'Between' is a preposition requiring objective case pronouns; the correct form is 'between you and me.'

Prepositions govern the objective case of pronouns. 'Between' is a preposition, so it must be followed by objective pronouns: 'me,' not 'I.' The error ('between you and I') is hypercorrection—a mistaken belief that 'I' is always more formal. Additionally, 'between' is correctly used for two parties. The correct form is 'between you and me.' Note: option D, while practically sensible for report writing, does not answer the grammatical question asked.