Hyphens - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

15 original exam-style questions - 7 pages of questions with a full mark scheme - free printable PDF.

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KS2 · Grammar

Y6.4 Hyphens

Calculators not allowed · about 40 minutes
Total Marks
Name: _______________________________    Date: ____ / ____ / ______
Answer ALL questions. Show all your working.

Talent Show Day

Source written for Revision Library (original, copyright-free). Written specifically for this grammar worksheet pack; not derived from or based on any published work, past paper or copyrighted text.

The long-awaited talent show finally arrived on a bright Friday afternoon. Twenty-six acts had signed up, and the hall buzzed with nervous, excited chatter. Priya's singing partner was Tomasz, a best-known face from last year's show. Their duet was well-rehearsed, and they checked every note again and again backstage. Mr Hendry, the drama teacher, handed out last-minute instructions to the dancers from the Reception class. Several of the dancers were only six years old and could barely stand still with excitement. The first performer was a Year 3 pupil who forgot his props and re-entered the stage twice. Next came a comedy sketch that had been co-written by two Year 6 boys who had never performed together before. When the judges announced their well-deserved winner, the whole hall erupted into applause. Even the teachers, usually calm and self-assured, cheered louder than anyone.

1
A hyphen joins the parts of a compound word together, with no space on either side. Tick the sentence in each pair that uses hyphens correctly.
(a)Which sentence is correct?(1)
  • A) The well-known artist performed first.
  • B) The well known artist performed first.
(b)Which sentence is correct?(1)
  • A) A six year-old dancer waited backstage.
  • B) A six-year-old dancer waited backstage.
(c)Which sentence is correct?(1)
  • A) It was a state of the art robot.
  • B) It was a state-of-the-art robot.
(d)Which sentence is correct?(1)
  • A) She wore an easy going smile.
  • B) She wore an easy-going smile.
2
The sentences below are taken from the passage above. Underline the hyphenated word in each one.
(a)Twenty-six acts had signed up, and the hall buzzed with nervous, excited chatter.(1)
(b)Mr Hendry, the drama teacher, handed out last-minute instructions to the dancers from the Reception class.(1)
(c)The first performer was a Year 3 pupil who forgot his props and re-entered the stage twice.(1)
(d)Next came a comedy sketch that had been co-written by two Year 6 boys who had never performed together before.(1)
3
A hyphen is also used to join the two parts of a written-out number between twenty-one and ninety-nine. Circle the correctly hyphenated number in each sentence.
(a)___ children took part in the sports day relay.(1)
  • Forty-seven
  • Forty seven
(b)The recipe needed ___ eggs for the whole class to bake.(1)
  • twenty-three
  • twenty three
(c)Priya counted ___ steps up to the lighthouse door.(1)
  • ninety-nine
  • ninety nine
(d)There were ___ pupils in the school choir this year.(1)
  • sixty-five
  • sixty five
4
A compound adjective needs a hyphen when it comes before the noun it describes, but usually does not need one when the same words come after the noun. Sort the six examples in the box below into the correct column of the table.
Word bank: a five-year-old girl | the girl is five years old | a well-known artist | the artist is well known | a three-metre wall | the wall is three metres tall
Hyphen needed (before the noun)No hyphen needed (after the noun)
(6)
5
A hyphen can completely change the meaning of a word or phrase. Circle the correct word or phrase to complete each sentence below.
(a)A shark that hunts and eats people is called a ___ shark.(1)
  • A) man eating
  • B) man-eating
(b)To put a new cover on a chair or cushion is to ___ it.(1)
  • A) recover
  • B) re-cover
(c)To get better after being ill is to ___ .(1)
  • A) recover
  • B) re-cover
(d)To change and improve a system or organisation is to ___ it.(1)
  • A) reform
  • B) re-form
(e)To put something back into its shape again, a second time, is to ___ it.(1)
  • A) reform
  • B) re-form
6
Look again at this pair of phrases.

A) man eating shark
B) man-eating shark

Without a hyphen, phrase A could be misread as meaning something quite different from a dangerous shark. Explain what phrase A could wrongly be understood to mean, and explain why the hyphen in phrase B removes that confusion.
(2)
7
Insert a hyphen (or hyphens) to correctly join the compound adjective in each sentence below.
(a)It was a nail biting finish to the race.(1)
(b)The eight year old boy waved to his mum from the stage.(1)
(c)She gave a thought provoking speech at the end of the show.(1)
(d)He wore an old fashioned suit for the closing number.(1)
8
Some prefixes, such as co-, re-, self- and ex-, are usually joined to the rest of the word with a hyphen. Insert the missing hyphen in each sentence below.
(a)The two councils agreed to co operate on the new road safety scheme.(1)
(b)She had to re enter her password after the system logged her out.(1)
(c)He felt very self conscious about his answer in class.(1)
(d)My ex headteacher still visits the school every summer fete.(1)
9
Each sentence below has a hyphen mistake: either a hyphen is missing where it is needed, or a hyphen has been wrongly added. Find the mistake and rewrite each sentence correctly.
(a)The sign warned visitors about the man eating shark in the tank.(1)
(b)Twenty five pupils went on the school trip to the aquarium.(1)
(c)My grandmother re-covered from her long illness last spring.(1)
(d)The recipe used a three year old block of cheddar cheese.(1)
10
The paragraph below is missing three hyphens. Find and correct the three errors.

During the interval, a wide eyed Year 2 pupil handed out twenty two raffle tickets to the delighted audience, while her well rehearsed older sister waited backstage for the final act.
(3)
11
Write two sentences of your own. One sentence must use a hyphenated compound adjective before a noun (like well-known or six-year-old). The other sentence must use a hyphen to avoid confusing the reader, in a similar way to man-eating shark.
(2)
12
Write a short paragraph (three to four sentences) about a school event of your own choosing. Your paragraph must include: one number between twenty-one and ninety-nine written in words with a hyphen, one hyphenated compound adjective placed before a noun, and one hyphenated prefix word (using co-, re-, self- or ex-). Underline all three examples in your paragraph.
(4)
13
Look again at the passage 'Talent Show Day' at the top of this pack. Find and write down two more hyphenated words in the passage that are not already used in Question 2. Do not use 'Twenty-six', 'last-minute', 're-entered' or 'co-written' - these already appeared in Question 2.
(2)
14
Look at this sentence from the passage.

When the judges announced their well-deserved winner, the whole hall erupted into applause.

Explain the effect of hyphenating 'well-deserved' before 'winner' rather than writing it as two separate words.
(2)
15
A hyphen joins the parts of a compound word with no space on either side (for example well-known). A dash is separated from the words around it by a space on each side and marks off extra information or joins two clauses; in this pack a dash is shown as a hyphen with a space on each side ( - ). Tick the two sentences below where the mark shown is a hyphen joining a compound word, not a dash.
  • A) The well-known artist signed autographs after the show.
  • B) The artist - who had performed twice before - signed autographs after the show.
  • C) Priya's six-year-old cousin watched from the front row.
  • D) The show finished late - almost an hour after it began.
Mark scheme · Y6.4 Hyphens

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

Question 7

Question 8

Question 9

Question 10

Question 11

Question 12

Question 13

Question 14

Question 15