A spelling quiz

[retchp]

Part of your cadet training will be to write and spell correctly. This has been addressed numerous times in posts about preparing for the Academy.
Learn these words, which are used a lot in reports and are routinely not spelled correctly or used correctly. Any others I cannot think of right now will be welcome if this thread gets any life. If it doesn't, then at least you have been warned. Spelling and correct usage of the English language are very important in police work.

Sheriff
lose
loose
accelerator
break
brake
tomorrow
academy
physical
psychiatric
stopping
border
board
site
sight
web-site
investigator
I vs i
penal
vehicle
passed
past
there
their
alcohol

[Dipmo]

Part of your cadet training will be to write and spell correctly. This has been addressed numerous times in posts about preparing for the Academy.
Learn these words, which are used a lot in reports and are routinely not spelled correctly or used correctly. Any others I cannot think of right now will be welcome if this thread gets any life. If it doesn't, then at least you have been warned. Spelling and correct usage of the English language are very important in police work.

Sheriff
lose
loose
accelerator
break
brake
tomorrow
academy
physical
psychiatric
stopping
border
board
site
sight
web-site
investigator
I vs i
penal
vehicle
passed
past
there
their
alcohol


too v. to v. two

weather (as in sunny) v. whether (as in whether or not the word is used correctly)

advise v. advice

license

were v. where

[AyatollahGondola]

I am always baffled when I make mistakes spelling words that I actually know how to spell.
One word that was pointed out here, THEIR, was a real problem for me remembering whether it was i or e first. Had to end up making an associative memory jogger for that one. Thank kindergarten for this one.
"E I E I O"

[PapaBear]

I am always baffled when I make mistakes spelling words that I actually know how to spell.
One word that was pointed out here, THEIR, was a real problem for me remembering whether it was i or e first. Had to end up making an associative memory jogger for that one. Thank kindergarten for this one.
"E I E I O"

This should clarify your difficulty:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_before_e_except_after_c :hitwall:

[Mac]

"Principal" vs. "principle." Yes, both words are occasionally used in law enforcement reports and they mean two entirely different things. Know the difference.

"Lose" vs. "loose" is one of the most common errors I see. If you "lose" something, you either got rid of it or can't find it. "Loose" is the opposite of "tight". You don't "loose weight" or "loose your car keys". A nut comes "loose" from a bolt, or your pants fit "loose" after you "lose" a lot of weight.

Another BIG pet peeve of mine - although we don't see it here that much - is "txt speak". People who have gotten so used to text messaging on their cell phones that they write everything like that...and put 'lol' at the end of every sentence whether it's appropriate or not.

When I see a post that looks like this:

lmao....hey ppl, can u tell me whr 2 get da book abt how 2 stdy 4 da CHP tst, lolz? thkz!!!!!11!!!

I roll my eyes, gnash my teeth and skip right past it. If you can't take the time to write a coherent sentence in at least somewhat proper English, I can't be bothered to take the time to answer you. Same goes when I see one that's a paragraph-long sentence with no punctuation or capitalization:

im going to take the chp written test next week i heard its really hard my friend took it twice and couldnt pass it whats on the test and how long will it take to do it o yeah do they still do the essay part i cant remember if they do or not i hope to become an officer someday but i was wondering how long will it take to do my background i heard pt is really hard how many miles do they make you run when you graduate how many family members do you get to bring my uncle is a cop in new jersey can he pin my badge on thanks.

That crap gives me a headache just looking at it...let alone bothering to translate it and sort it out. Reading it makes me feel like I just drank 4 cups of extra-strong coffee, popped a few 'whites' and slammed 3 Red Bulls while driving 125 mph in a school zone listening to Yngwie Malmsteen on fast-forward. If you're no more literate than that, nobody needs to bother answering your question anyway - you'll never make it through the academy with those writing skills (or lack thereof.)

[PonderingCHP]

One that I notice on message boards quite a bit:

your vrs. you're

[Stargrl]

there
their


Don't forget the other cousin: they're! They're= they are. Another commonly misuse is "your "vs. "you're", as well as "its" vs. "it's." "Your" as well as "its" are possessive: "Is this your jacket? No, it's John's jacket. You're going to need to buy your own jacket! The jacket is green, and its zippers are bronze." The way I remember this is to use both words to see if I'm going to use the possessive form, i.e., "it is" instead of "it's" and "you are" instead of "you're." The number one pet peeve passed onto me by my English teacher is the misuse of "nauseous." Nauseous means to *cause* nausea. Instead of saying, "I'm feeling nauseous" one should say, "I'm feeling nauseated." PHEW! I'm glad I got that all out of my system!

[AyatollahGondola]

Another BIG pet peeve of mine - although we don't see it here that much - is "txt speak". People who have gotten so used to text messaging on their cell phones that they write everything like that...and put 'lol' at the end of every sentence whether it's appropriate or not.



That's kind of like graffitti. Too many shortcuts that only a cult can interpret.



This should clarify your difficulty:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_before_e_except_after_c :hitwall:Today 05:42 AM


I always had trouble remembering how that went too. But for some reason, Old Macdonalds Farm comes right up

[cal911gal]

stationary v. stationery

[chico.medic]

Reading it makes me feel like I just drank 4 cups of extra-strong coffee, popped a few 'whites' and slammed 3 Red Bulls while driving 125 mph in a school zone listening to Yngwie Malmsteen on fast-forward.

Ironically, I had a TC the other day and I'm fairly certain that my patient was doing just that.

[dw]

its versus it's.

[David]

listening to Yngwie Malmsteen on fast-forward. Hahahahaha!

[Motor City Cop]

Part of your cadet training will be to write and spell correctly. This has been addressed numerous times in posts about preparing for the Academy.
Learn these words, which are used a lot in reports and are routinely not spelled correctly or used correctly. Any others I cannot think of right now will be welcome if this thread gets any life. If it doesn't, then at least you have been warned. Spelling and correct usage of the English language are very important in police work.

Sheriff
lose
loose
accelerator
break
brake
tomorrow
academy
physical
psychiatric
stopping
border
board
site
sight
web-site
investigator
I vs i
penal
vehicle
passed
past
there
their
alcohol

And don't rely on the spell check button when writing reports on a computer. It often doesn't catch spelling errors when there are multiple ways to spell a word depending on usage. Proof read out loud to yourself and use a dictionary. You can be one hell of a police officer but if you turn in a poor report with poor grammar and spelling, your superiors will not think very highly of you.

[cg+fd2chp]

also a lot vice alot

[cliu513]

How about the proper useage of me and I. I watch Mythbusters a lot. Adam has never once use Jamie and me correctly. He always use Jamie and I when he should be using Jamie and me at the end of the sentence.

[AyatollahGondola]

Don't forget the other cousin: they're! They're= they are. Another commonly misuse is "your "vs. "you're", as well as "its" vs. "it's." "Your" as well as "its" are possessive: "Is this your jacket? No, it's John's jacket. You're going to need to buy your own jacket! The jacket is green, and its zippers are bronze." The way I remember this is to use both words to see if I'm going to use the possessive form, i.e., "it is" instead of "it's" and "you are" instead of "you're." The number one pet peeve passed onto me by my English teacher is the misuse of "nauseous." Nauseous means to *cause* nausea. Instead of saying, "I'm feeling nauseous" one should say, "I'm feeling nauseated." PHEW! I'm glad I got that all out of my system!

I've forgotten the basic rules of apostrophes in general. Rather than experiment by comparison, I think I'll go back and brush up a little