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Fireflysaigon Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

The police are...

The police are _________ an incident which took place this afternoon.
A. inspecting B. searching C. looking out D. investigating
I choose "D. investigating". How can I explain to the others that "A. inspecting" is never correct? Thanks in advance
  

Top answer

The main explanation is collocation, I think. We investigate incidents, crimes, etc and we inspect cargoes, licenses, etc. Inspect = look at.

— Mister Micawber

  • The main explanation is collocation, I think.
  • We investigate incidents, crimes, etc and we inspect cargoes, licenses, etc.
  • Inspect = look at.
  • Investigate = to conduct an inquiry.
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4 Answers
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The main explanation is collocation, I think. We investigate incidents, crimes, etc and we inspect cargoes, licenses, etc. Inspect = look at. Investigate = to conduct an inquiry.
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Mister MicawberThe main explanation is collocation, I think. We investigate incidents, crimes, etc and we inspect cargoes, licenses, etc. Inspect = look at. Investigate = to conduct an inquiry.


In this sentence I got stuck when I read.. "The police are ..." Shouldnt it be "The police is investigating..."

L
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'Police' is a plural noun only; there is no singular except 'police officer'.
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