Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar Set 5
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar Set 5 is further 13+ Common Entrance practice at the accuracy strand of the English paper, covering colons and semicolons, apostrophes for contractions and possession, commonly confused homophones, and consistent verb tense and subject-verb agreement.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Revise the two jobs of the apostrophe (a missing letter in a contraction, or possession) and check every apostrophe you write is doing one of these two jobs.
- Learn when a colon introduces a list or an explanation, and when a semicolon joins two complete, closely related sentences without a joining word.
- Learn the spelling and meaning of frequently confused homophones such as practice/practise, effect/affect and whose/who's, and test yourself on them regularly.
- When editing a sentence, check that every clause has a subject and a verb, and that a subordinate clause is attached to the main sentence with a comma where needed.
- Read a passage through once for overall sense, then a second time checking punctuation and spelling word by word, marking every error you find rather than stopping at the first.
- Check that verb tenses stay consistent throughout a sentence or paragraph, and that subjects and verbs agree in number, for example the museum was, not the museum were.
Worked example
Correct the punctuation and spelling in this sentence: the museums oldest exhibit a suit of armour was closed for repair the guide said it would effect the whole tour
- Add a capital letter at the start: 'the' becomes 'The'.
- Add an apostrophe to show possession: 'museums' becomes 'museum's', since the exhibit belongs to the museum.
- Add commas around the non-essential extra detail 'a suit of armour', since the sentence still makes sense without it.
- Correct the homophone error: 'effect' (a noun meaning a result) should be 'affect' (a verb meaning to influence), since a verb is needed here.
- Add a full stop after 'repair' and a comma before the reported speech. Final answer: The museum's oldest exhibit, a suit of armour, was closed for repair. The guide said it would affect the whole tour.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1Choose the correct homophone: You should always ___ your times tables before a test. (practice / practise)Show answer
Answer: Practise - the verb form; 'practice' is the noun, as in 'sports practice'.
Q2Add the missing apostrophe: The three teachers offices were being redecorated. (There are three teachers, each with their own office.)Show answer
Answer: The three teachers' offices were being redecorated. (plural possessive, apostrophe after the s)
Q3Which punctuation mark correctly joins these two sentences without adding a joining word: 'The coach was late the pupils waited in the hall.'?Show answer
Answer: A semicolon, because both halves are complete sentences that are closely related in meaning: The coach was late; the pupils waited in the hall.
Q4Correct the tense error: Last week, the choir practises for two hours every evening.Show answer
Answer: Last week, the choir practised for two hours every evening. (past tense, to match 'last week')
Q5Insert a colon in the correct place: The kit list included the following items a torch, a compass and a whistle.Show answer
Answer: The kit list included the following items: a torch, a compass and a whistle. (the colon introduces the list)
Q6Choose the correct homophone: ___ going to be late if the bus does not arrive soon. (Whose / Who's)Show answer
Answer: Who's - short for 'who is'.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 13+ Common Entrance exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Correct the punctuation in this sentence, adding a colon or a semicolon where needed: the trip had one rule no pupil was to leave the group
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Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 2 available
Rewrite this sentence, correcting the THREE errors: the teams kit was ruined when it rained mr davies said it would effect saturday's match
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Nothing ticked yet - 3 available
Correct the FOUR errors in this passage, rewriting it correctly: the librarys new computers was installed on monday however the wifi didnt work until wednesday
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Nothing ticked yet - 4 available
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the spelling, punctuation and grammar set 5 worksheet pack - 12 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.
This topic is chapter 35 of 13+ English Workbook, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
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