APCAT APCAT - Alberta Police Cognitive Ability English Grammar and Structure 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence uses the correct form of the possessive?
- The officers report was thorough.
- The officers' reports were thorough. (Correct answer)
- The officer's reports' were thorough.
- The officers reports were thorough.
Correct answer: The officers' reports were thorough.
When a noun is plural and ends in 's', the apostrophe is placed after the 's' to show possession (officers').
'Officers'' is the plural possessive form, meaning more than one officer owns the reports. 'Officer's' would be singular possessive. Omitting the apostrophe entirely is never correct for possessives in standard Canadian English.
Question 2: Select the sentence that is grammatically correct.
- Neither the sergeant nor the constables was available.
- Neither the sergeant nor the constables were available. (Correct answer)
- Neither the sergeant nor the constables is available.
- Neither the sergeant nor the constables are available.
Correct answer: Neither the sergeant nor the constables were available.
With 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the noun closest to it. Since 'constables' is plural, the verb must be 'were'.
The subject-verb agreement rule for correlative conjunctions like 'neither...nor' states the verb matches the subject nearest to it. 'Constables' is plural, so 'were' is correct. This is a common grammar test item in police cognitive assessments.
Question 3: Choose the word that correctly completes the sentence: 'The investigator had _____ the evidence before the suspect arrived.'
- already catalogued (Correct answer)
- all ready catalogued
- all-ready catalogued
- already catalog
Correct answer: already catalogued
'Already' (one word) means 'by this time'. 'Catalogued' is the correct past participle spelling in Canadian English.
'Already' is an adverb indicating that an action was completed before a specific time. 'All ready' is an adjective phrase meaning fully prepared. Canadian English retains the '-ued' spelling in 'catalogued'.
Question 4: Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?
- Running down the alley, the constable apprehended the suspect.
- Running down the alley, the suspect was apprehended. (Correct answer)
- The constable, running down the alley, apprehended the suspect.
- While running down the alley, the constable made the arrest.
Correct answer: Running down the alley, the suspect was apprehended.
'Running down the alley' dangles because the sentence implies the suspect was running, though the constable performed the action.
A dangling modifier occurs when the introductory phrase does not logically connect to the subject of the main clause. In option B, 'Running down the alley' should describe the constable, but the subject is 'the suspect'. This creates an illogical meaning.
Question 5: Which option correctly uses a semicolon?
- The officer filed the report; but forgot to sign it.
- The officer filed the report; she forgot to sign it. (Correct answer)
- The officer filed the report; forgetting to sign it.
- The officer; filed the report and forgot to sign it.
Correct answer: The officer filed the report; she forgot to sign it.
A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.
Option B has two independent clauses ('The officer filed the report' and 'she forgot to sign it') correctly joined by a semicolon. Option A is incorrect because 'but' is a coordinating conjunction requiring a comma. Options C and D do not join two independent clauses.
Question 6: Identify the correctly spelled word for a police context.
- Supoena
- Subpoena (Correct answer)
- Subpeona
- Supbeona
Correct answer: Subpoena
'Subpoena' is the correct legal spelling, derived from Latin meaning 'under penalty'.
'Subpoena' is frequently used in policing and legal writing. The word retains its Latin spelling and is not phonetically intuitive, making it a common misspelling target. Officers writing reports and court documents must spell legal terms accurately.
