KS2 SATs-Style Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling 2
KS2 Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Paper 2 is a second practice set built the same way as the real test: a questions paper on grammar, punctuation and vocabulary, plus a spelling paper where twenty words are read aloud in sentences. The first KS2 GPS practice paper covers word classes, clauses, the passive voice and the subjunctive; this second paper focuses on a different slice of the Year 6 curriculum: fronted adverbials and the comma that follows them, expanded noun phrases, parenthesis marked with brackets or dashes, semicolons joining two closely related main clauses, apostrophes showing plural possession, and the prefixes, suffixes and homophones that the spelling paper tests most often.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Spot a fronted adverbial by checking whether a phrase describing when, where or how comes BEFORE the subject of the sentence, such as Later that evening or Without a sound. A comma always follows it.
- Build an expanded noun phrase by adding more than one describing detail to a noun: an adjective, and a phrase starting with a preposition, as in the old wooden bridge over the river.
- For parenthesis, check that the extra information could be deleted and the sentence would still make sense on its own, then mark it with a pair of commas, a pair of brackets, or a pair of dashes, using the SAME pair on both sides rather than mixing them.
- Use a semicolon only between two clauses that could each stand alone as a full sentence and are closely linked in meaning. If either half could not be its own sentence, a semicolon is wrong.
- For apostrophes showing possession, work out whether the owner is singular or plural FIRST. One pupil's book has the apostrophe before the s; the pupils' books have it after, because pupils is already plural.
- For spelling, break the word into its parts: does it use a prefix such as dis-, mis-, il- or ir-, or a suffix such as -ation, -ably or -ibly? Knowing the rule for the ending is more reliable than guessing from sound alone.
- For homophones, decide which word is needed by its job in the sentence: there is a place, their shows belonging, and they're is short for they are.
- Check that your finished answer changes only what the question asked. Adding or removing something else in the sentence can lose the mark even when the requested change is correct.
Worked example
Add a semicolon to punctuate this sentence correctly, and explain your choice: The rain had not stopped all week the match was cancelled for the third time.
- Check whether the sentence is really two separate ideas joined together: 'The rain had not stopped all week' and 'the match was cancelled for the third time'.
- Test each part on its own: both make complete sense as a sentence by themselves, so neither is a subordinate clause.
- Because both halves could stand alone AND they are closely linked in meaning, a semicolon is the right choice rather than a comma, which would create a comma splice.
- Place the semicolon at the join: The rain had not stopped all week; the match was cancelled for the third time.
- Check there is no capital letter straight after the semicolon, since it is not starting a new sentence, only linking two related ones.
- Explain the choice: a semicolon links two main clauses that could each be their own sentence, without needing a conjunction such as and or so.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1Circle the fronted adverbial in this sentence and add the missing comma: Without warning the fire alarm began to ring.Show answer
Answer: Without warning is the fronted adverbial, and a comma is needed after it: Without warning, the fire alarm began to ring.
Q2Expand this noun phrase by adding an adjective and a prepositional phrase: the doorShow answer
Answer: Many answers are possible, for example the heavy wooden door at the end of the corridor, adding the adjectives heavy and wooden and the prepositional phrase at the end of the corridor.
Q3Rewrite this sentence using a pair of dashes instead of commas to mark the parenthesis: My uncle, a keen cyclist, is visiting this weekend.Show answer
Answer: My uncle - a keen cyclist - is visiting this weekend.
Q4Add the apostrophe: The pupils books were left on the bus. (All the books belonged to more than one pupil.)Show answer
Answer: The pupils' books were left on the bus, with the apostrophe after the s because pupils is already plural.
Q5Which prefix turns obedient into its opposite?Show answer
Answer: Dis-, giving disobedient.
Q6Add the correct suffix to accept to make an adjective meaning able to be accepted.Show answer
Answer: -able, giving acceptable.
Q7Choose the correct homophone: I cannot believe (its / it's) raining again.Show answer
Answer: It's, because it is short for it is.
Q8Explain why 'The dog barked, the postman ran' is not correctly punctuated with a comma alone.Show answer
Answer: Both halves are complete sentences on their own (independent clauses), so joining them with just a comma creates a comma splice; they need a semicolon, a conjunction, or to be written as two separate sentences instead.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a KS1 and KS2 SATs exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
(a) Underline the fronted adverbial in this sentence: After the final whistle blew, the crowd rushed onto the pitch. (b) Rewrite the sentence so that the same information is given WITHOUT a fronted adverbial, keeping the meaning the same. (c) Name the punctuation mark that follows a fronted adverbial.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 3 available
Insert the words 'who is only nine' as parenthesis into this sentence, once using a pair of commas and once using a pair of brackets: My brother plays the trumpet in the school orchestra.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
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(a) Add the correct prefix to make legal mean not legal. (b) Add the correct suffix to make terrify into an adjective meaning causing great fear. (c) Choose the correct word: They left (their / there / they're) bags by the door.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 3 available
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the ks2 sats-style grammar, punctuation and spelling 2 worksheet pack - 16 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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