KS1 English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (SATs Practice)
The KS1 grammar, punctuation and spelling papers check whether a child can name and use the parts of a sentence and spell common words correctly. In England the Key Stage 1 tests are now optional rather than statutory, so many schools use them as internal practice, but the content is still the Year 2 national curriculum: nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs, capital letters and full stops, question marks and exclamation marks, commas in a list, apostrophes for missing letters and for belonging, joining words such as and, but, or, because and when, and the common spelling patterns for adding endings. Questions are short and specific, and most ask a child to circle, tick, write in or underline rather than to write at length.
Before you start
No specific prerequisites - this is a good place to start.
Method
- Learn the word types by what they DO, not by a definition to recite: a noun names something, an adjective describes a noun, a verb is what someone or something does or is, and an adverb tells you how, when or where the verb happened.
- Read the whole sentence before answering, then read it again with your answer in place to check it still makes sense.
- For punctuation questions, decide what the sentence is doing first. A statement ends in a full stop, a question ends in a question mark, and a sentence showing strong feeling that starts with What or How ends in an exclamation mark.
- For apostrophes, decide which of the two jobs it is doing: replacing missing letters (do not becomes don't) or showing belonging (the dog's bowl). Write the two words out in full first if you are unsure.
- For spelling questions, say the word slowly, listen for each sound, and think about the ending rules: adding -ing or -ed often doubles a final consonant after a short vowel, as in hopping, and a final y usually changes to i before -ed or -es, as in cried.
- Answer in the way the question asks. If it says circle one word, circle exactly one; if it says write the word, write it out fully and spell it correctly, because a right answer spelled wrongly can lose the mark on a spelling question.
Worked example
Add the correct punctuation to this sentence: what a beautiful day it is
- Read the sentence and decide what it is doing. It is showing strong feeling about the day, not asking anything.
- It begins with the word What, and a sentence that begins with What or How and shows strong feeling is an exclamation.
- Every sentence begins with a capital letter, so the w becomes W.
- An exclamation ends with an exclamation mark, so put one at the end.
- Write the finished sentence: What a beautiful day it is!
- Read it back to check: it has a capital letter at the start and one end mark at the end, and nothing in the middle needs a comma.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1Which word in this sentence is the adjective? The tiny mouse ran quickly.Show answer
Answer: Tiny, because it describes the noun mouse.
Q2Which word in this sentence is the adverb? The tiny mouse ran quickly.Show answer
Answer: Quickly, because it tells you how the mouse ran.
Q3Write this as one sentence using because: It was raining. We stayed inside.Show answer
Answer: We stayed inside because it was raining.
Q4Write the contraction for did not.Show answer
Answer: Didn't, with the apostrophe where the o is missing.
Q5Add the apostrophe: The girls coat was wet. (One girl.)Show answer
Answer: The girl's coat was wet.
Q6Add the commas: I packed apples pears grapes and plums.Show answer
Answer: I packed apples, pears, grapes and plums.
Q7Add -ing to hop and to hope.Show answer
Answer: Hopping, doubling the p after the short vowel, and hoping, dropping the e.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a KS1 and KS2 SATs exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Circle the verb in each sentence, and then write what type of sentence each one is (statement, question, command or exclamation). (a) The dog barked at the postman. (b) Please close the door. (c) Where did you put my book?
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 6 available
Rewrite this sentence with the correct capital letters and punctuation: on saturday my sister and i went to bristol to see grandma
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 4 available
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the ks1 english grammar, punctuation and spelling (sats practice) worksheet pack - 10 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
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