Free CA POST PELLETB Exam Flashcards

A sentence is shown with one word blanked out and four spelling options. You pick the correctly spelled word for that sentence's context. POST publishes no official word list - the sub-test draws on words likely to appear in police report writing, not obscure vocabulary.

A prefix (dis-, mis-, un-, re-, pre-) attaches to the front of a word and never changes the spelling of the base word. Example: mis + understand = misunderstand, not 'missunderstand.'

When a one-syllable word ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double that consonant before adding -ing, -ed, -er, or -est. Example: stop becomes stopping and stopped, not stoping. Exception: never double a final w, x, or y - box stays boxing and tow stays towing.

Double the final consonant only if the word's last syllable is stressed and ends in a single consonant after a single vowel. Example: occur becomes occurred (stress on -cur), but open stays opened (stress is not on the last syllable).

Drop a word's silent final e before adding a suffix that starts with a vowel, such as -ing. Example: arrive becomes arriving, not arriveing. Exception: keep the e when it preserves a soft c or g sound before -able or -ous, as in notice becomes noticeable and courage becomes courageous.

When a word ends in a consonant plus y, change the y to i before most suffixes. Example: testify becomes testified. Exception: keep the y before -ing, since changing it would create two i's in a row - testify becomes testifying, not testifiing.

Add -es instead of just -s to form the plural, because the base word already ends in a hissing or hushing sound that needs an extra syllable to pronounce clearly. Example: witness becomes witnesses, not witnesss.

Change the y to i and add -es. Example: felony becomes felonies. If a vowel comes before the y instead, just add -s with no change, as in attorney becomes attorneys.

Write i before e except after c - but only when the pair makes a long 'ee' sound, as in believe and receive. The rule does not apply to words like weird, seize, either, neither, foreign, and height, or to the -cient/-cience family (efficient, conscience), which must be memorized separately.

Adding -ness or -ly to a base word normally keeps the base word's spelling intact. The exception is when the base word ends in y after a consonant - then the y changes to i first. Example: happy becomes happily and happiness, not happyly.

When a noun ends in a consonant plus o, add -es to form the plural. Example: tomato becomes tomatoes, veto becomes vetoes. When a noun ends in a vowel plus o, just add -s. Example: rodeo becomes rodeos, stereo becomes stereos.

Suspicious means causing or feeling doubt about someone's honesty or intent. It is often misspelled by swapping the ending to '-tious' (e.g., 'suspitious'). The correct ending is '-cious': s-u-s-p-i-c-i-o-u-s, the same pattern as 'malicious' and 'vicious,' not the '-tious' pattern in words like 'cautious.'

Culpable means deserving blame or at fault. The closest synonym is 'responsible' or 'blameworthy,' not 'careless' or 'cooperative' - those describe how someone acted or behaved, not whether they were legally or morally at fault.

Evasive means avoiding direct answers or deliberately vague. The closest synonym is 'equivocal' or 'cagey,' not 'elusive' - elusive means hard to catch or pin down and is a commonly confused near-miss, not a true synonym for dodging direct answers.

Discrepancy means an inconsistency or difference between facts or accounts. The closest synonym is 'inconsistency,' not 'similarity,' which is the opposite meaning and a common wrong-answer trap.

Erratic means irregular and unpredictable. The closest synonym is 'inconsistent' or 'unpredictable,' not 'aggressive' - erratic describes a pattern that changes, not necessarily hostility.

Fabricated means invented or made up, especially to deceive. The closest synonym is 'falsified,' not 'incomplete' - a fabricated report is actively false, not simply missing information.

Credible means believable and worthy of trust. The closest synonym is 'trustworthy' or 'convincing,' not 'cooperative' - a witness can be cooperative but still not credible.

Feasible means capable of being done; practical and achievable. The closest synonym is 'possible' or 'workable,' not 'preferable' - feasible only addresses whether something can be done, not whether it is the best option.

Incriminate means to provide evidence of involvement in wrongdoing. The closest synonym is 'implicate,' not 'interview' - incriminate describes the effect of evidence, not the act of questioning someone.

Meticulous means extremely careful and precise about details. The closest synonym is 'thorough' or 'painstaking,' not 'slow' - meticulous describes precision, and a meticulous person is not necessarily slow.

Plausible means appearing reasonable on the surface, without confirming it is true. The closest synonym is 'seemingly reasonable,' not 'proven' - plausible only means an idea sounds reasonable, and it can still turn out to be false once checked.

Volatile means likely to change suddenly, especially in a dangerous or unstable way. The closest synonym is 'unstable' or 'explosive' in the figurative sense, not 'urgent' - volatile describes unpredictability and risk of sudden change, not simply how quickly a response is needed.

POST's own Applicant Preparation Guide singles out Clarity: 'This is the only sub-test where studying can markedly improve your test score.' Spelling and Vocabulary reflect language skills built over years, but Clarity tests a learnable, closed set of writing-error rules - modification, vague reference, run-ons, and fragments - making it the highest-leverage section to drill before test day.

A misplaced modifier is a limiting or descriptive word placed too far from the specific word it is meant to modify, so the sentence could be read more than one way. Example: 'The sergeant only assigned two officers to the scene' is ambiguous - 'only' could limit 'assigned' (did nothing else), 'two officers' (not three), or 'to the scene' (nowhere else). Placing 'only' directly before the word it modifies removes the ambiguity.

A dangling modifier is an introductory phrase that has no logical subject in the sentence to attach to, leaving the reader unsure who or what performed the action. Example: 'After reviewing the footage, the arrest was made' does not state who reviewed the footage.

An ambiguous pronoun reference happens when a pronoun like 'he,' 'she,' or 'they' could logically point to more than one noun in the sentence, so the reader cannot tell who is meant. Example: 'When the officer spoke to the suspect, he was calm' does not clarify who was calm.

This clarity error occurs when a pronoun or relative pronoun such as 'this,' 'that,' 'it,' or 'which' refers to an entire idea or situation instead of one specific noun, making the reference too fuzzy to pin down. Example: 'The suspect fled and dropped the weapon, which surprised everyone' leaves 'which' pointing at an unclear target - the fleeing, the dropping, or both.

This error happens when a word like 'there' or 'then' could logically point to more than one location or time already mentioned in the sentence. Example: 'The suspect left the store and the alley, and officers searched there' does not say which location was searched.

A run-on sentence joins two complete, independent thoughts with no punctuation or connecting word at all, forcing the reader to guess where one idea ends and the next begins. Example: 'The suspect ran officers gave chase' fuses two separate sentences together.

A comma splice joins two independent clauses using only a comma, with no coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, so) to properly connect them. Example: 'The alarm sounded, the suspect fled' should use a period, semicolon, or 'and' instead of just a comma.

Use a period to make two sentences, a semicolon if the ideas are closely related, or a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, so, yet, for, nor). Example: 'The alarm sounded, and the suspect fled.'

A sentence fragment is a group of words punctuated as a sentence but missing a subject, a verb, or a complete thought, so it cannot stand alone. Example: 'Running toward the exit before officers arrived.' has no subject performing a complete action.

This fragment type begins with a subordinating word like 'because,' 'although,' 'when,' or 'since' and is then punctuated as its own sentence, even though a clause starting with those words cannot stand alone. Example: 'Because the suspect refused to comply.' needs to attach to a main clause.

This fragment type happens when a descriptive phrase, such as one starting with 'in addition to' or ending in '-ing,' is separated from the main sentence by a period, leaving it without its own subject and verb. Example: 'Officers searched the vehicle. In addition to checking the trunk.' should be one sentence.

Answer strictly from what the passage states or clearly implies. Do not bring in outside knowledge, personal opinions, or real-world assumptions, even if they seem reasonable - an answer that is true in general but not supported by the passage is scored wrong.

A stated fact is written directly in the passage. An inference is a conclusion you draw by combining stated facts with logic. Reading Comprehension questions test both, so check whether the question asks what the passage 'says' versus what it 'suggests' or 'implies.'

A common wrong-answer trap stretches a narrow, specific claim in the passage into a sweeping statement using words like 'always,' 'never,' or 'all.' If the passage supports only a limited claim, an answer choice that expands it further is incorrect.

A common wrong-answer trap mixes an accurate detail from the passage with one changed or reversed fact, making the choice sound familiar even though it misstates something specific. Always check every clause of an answer choice against the passage, not just the first half.

Skimming the question and answer choices before reading the passage tells you what information to look for, so you read with a purpose instead of re-reading the whole passage after answering from memory.

The main idea is the overall point a passage makes; supporting details are the specific facts, examples, or data used to back that point up. A question asking for the passage's main point wants the overarching claim, not one detail used to illustrate it, and a detail-level question should be answered with the specific fact, not a restatement of the whole passage.

This phrase is a reminder that the correct answer must come only from the text you just read, not from general knowledge or a reasonable-sounding guess. If a choice is true in the real world but never stated or implied in the passage, it is not the correct answer to an 'according to the passage' question.

On a negative stem, three of the four answer choices ARE supported by the passage and one is not - your job is to find the one unsupported choice. Check each option against the text one at a time and eliminate the ones the passage does support; the option you cannot verify is the answer.

Some passages describe a series of steps or a chronological order, such as a procedure or a chain of events. Note transition words like 'first,' 'after,' 'once,' and 'then' as you read, since sequence questions often hinge on which step happens before or after another, not just whether a step is mentioned at all.

Policy or general-order passages often state a rule as a condition: if a specific fact is true, then a specific result applies. Match the exact condition given in the scenario to the exact condition in the rule before choosing an answer - a scenario that is close to, but not exactly, the stated condition does not trigger that rule.

Each Reading Comprehension passage supplies every fact needed to answer its own questions, so you never need outside facts, prior passages, or real-world specifics to answer correctly. If a question seems to require information the passage never gave you, re-read the passage - the answer is there, not in what you already know.

Chain of custody is the documented, unbroken record of everyone who collected, handled, or stored a piece of physical evidence, from the scene through trial. A break in the chain can be used to challenge whether evidence was altered.

Some passages include a stated opinion or evaluative claim, such as an author's judgment about whether a policy works. Treat that opinion as a 'fact about what the passage says,' not as an objective truth - a question can correctly ask what the author believes without that belief being independently true.

Passages built around a 'general order' present a formal written procedure, such as a radio-code system or use-of-force policy. Answer these strictly by applying the rule as written in the passage, not by guessing at real-world department practice.

When a passage gives a specific number, percentage, or comparison, answer choices often shift it slightly - a different percent, a reversed comparison, or a rounded figure treated as exact. Reread the exact figure and its exact comparison (more/less than, before/after) rather than relying on your memory of roughly what the passage said.