keisatsu ga sono hito no shoutai o shirabeta.

direct object particle

Breakdown of keisatsu ga sono hito no shoutai o shirabeta.

• が: subject particle
• 人ひと: person
• の: possessive case particle

Questions & Answers about keisatsu ga sono hito no shoutai o shirabeta.

How do you read this sentence?

It is read:

けいさつ が その ひと の しょうたい を しらべた。

Word by word:

• 警察 = けいさつ
• その = その
• 人 = ひと
• 正体 = しょうたい
• 調べた = しらべた

What does 警察 mean here? Does it mean the police as a group or a police officer?

警察 usually means the police in a general sense, not necessarily one specific officer.

In Japanese, 警察 can refer to:

• the police as an institution
• the police in general
• sometimes police officers collectively, depending on context

So in this sentence, it most naturally means the police investigated that person’s identity.

If you specifically wanted to say a police officer, you would more often use 警察官.

Why is が used after 警察?