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The children's dogs.

Punctuation

Sharpen your punctuation for 11 Plus English: use commas, full stops, and quotation marks correctly so sentences read smoothly and dialogue is clear.

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Fascinating Fact:

Direct speech uses quotation marks for exact words. Punctuate inside the closing mark. New speaker, new line. “I’m ready,” said Maya.

In 11 Plus English, strong punctuation makes meaning clear. Practise full stops, commas in lists, apostrophes for possession or omission, and neat dialogue using quotation marks and reporting clauses.

Key Terms

Direct speech: The exact words a person says, shown with quotation marks.
Quotation marks: Inverted commas that show speech or quotations, for example “Hello”.
Reporting clause: The part that tells who spoke and how, for example she said.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What punctuation marks should I know for the 11 Plus?

Know full stops, commas, question marks, exclamation marks, apostrophes, quotation marks, colons, and semicolons. Use each to clarify meaning, not to decorate sentences.

How do I punctuate direct speech correctly?

Open quotes, capital letter to start, punctuation before the closing quote, then close quotes. Add a comma before the reporting clause. New speaker starts a new line.

When should I use commas in a list?

Place commas between items and use and before the last item. An Oxford comma is optional but helpful when items are long or could be misread.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Which one of the following has been punctuated correctly?

Pauls' house.

the mouses' cheese.

my mother's-in-law's house.

Peter's dog.

Possessive singular takes 's

2 .

Which one of the following has been punctuated correctly?

He visited africa last year.

She is from Brazil.

They speak spanish.

italian women are very beautiful.

The names of nationalities and languages are capitalized

3 .

Which one of the following has been punctuated correctly?

He locked the door, and he went upstairs to bed.

He locked the door, and went upstairs to bed.

Having locked the door he went upstairs to bed.

He locked the door, he went upstairs to bed.

This is a compound sentence: two simple sentences (independent clauses) joined with a COMMA and a conjunction: 'and' in this case

4 .

Which one of the following has been punctuated correctly?

The woman who lives next door is a famous novelist.

The woman, who lives next door, is a famous novelist.

The woman, who lives next door is a famous novelist.

The woman who lives next door, is a famous novelist.

'who lives next door' tells us who the woman is. It is NOT extra information, so you MUST NOT use commas. If you remove it, you get: 'The woman is a famous novelist'. Which woman?

5 .

Which one of the following has been punctuated correctly?

Its his house.

Its' his house.

It's his house.

It his house.

It's = It is

6 .

Which one of the following has been punctuated correctly?

Although he has never been to Russia, he knows the geography of the country very well.

Although he has never been to Russia he knows the geography of the country very well.

He has never been to Russia, but knows the geography of the country very well.

He has never been to Russia but he knows the geography of the country very well.

This is a complex sentence. Dependent clause: 'Although he has never been to Russia'; independent clause: 'he knows the geography of the country very well'. The introductory dependent clause is set off with a comma

7 .

Which one of the following has been punctuated correctly?

He has two sisters. His sister, who is a doctor, is a famous doctor.

He has three brothers. His brother, who is a university lecturer, is a famous scientist.

He has three brothers. His brother who is a university lecturer is a famous scientist.

He has one sister. His sister who is a doctor is a famous doctor.

'who is a university lecturer' is important to the meaning of the sentence - so DON'T use commas. It is NOT extra information. If you take it out, you get: 'His brother is a famous scientist'. Which brother? The one that is a university lecturer

8 .

Which one of the following has been punctuated correctly?

The childrens' dogs.

The children's dogs.

The childrens dogs.

The children's dog's.

Irregular plurals form their possessive forms by adding 's: children's, men's, women's, mice's, etc.

9 .

Which one of the following has been punctuated correctly?

Whose this book?

Whoses this book?

Who's is this book?

Whose is this book?

'Whose' is the possessive form of 'who'. You use 'whose' to find out who owns something

10 .

Which one of the following has been punctuated correctly?

It's there's not ours.

It's their's not our's.

It's theirs not ours.

It's they're's not ours.

'It's' = 'It is'. 'Theirs' and 'ours' are possessive pronouns. They are NOT the same as 'their' and 'our' which are possessive determiners (also known as possessive adjectives). For example: 'This is their book - It's theirs'; 'This is our house - It's ours'

Author: Frank Evans (Specialist 11 Plus Teacher and Tutor)