GCSE English LanguageGrammar and punctuation
30 questions on punctuation. Pick your answer, then tap to see if you were right and why. Every question comes from the Show Working English Language bank.
Technical accuracy is part of the writing mark on every board, and a range of punctuation used correctly is part of that. These questions cover full stops and comma splices, semicolons, colons, brackets, ellipses, question and exclamation marks, and punctuating speech.
01 / Quiz yourselfTry it, then tap to check
Choose your answer before you open it. Then read why, so it sticks.
01 / PunctuationOur own example
The rain stopped, we went outside.
Answer: A It is a comma splice
Two main clauses joined only by a comma make a comma splice. A comma is not strong enough to hold two sentences together: use a full stop, a semicolon, or a joining word such as “so”.
02 / Punctuation
Answer: A The film was long, I fell asleep.
“The film was long” and “I fell asleep” are both main clauses. With only a comma between them, it is a comma splice. Adding “so”, “because” or “and” joins them properly.
03 / Punctuation
Answer: C Mia loves swimming; her brother hates it.
A semicolon joins two main clauses that are closely linked. “Mia loves swimming” and “her brother hates it” could each stand alone as a sentence, so the semicolon is right between them.
04 / PunctuationOur own example
The hall was silent; nobody dared to move.
Answer: C It joins two closely linked main clauses
Both halves are main clauses that could stand alone. The semicolon links them because the second explains the first: the silence and the stillness belong together.
05 / PunctuationOur own example
You will need three things ____ a pen, a ruler and a calculator.
Answer: A A colon
A colon comes after a main clause to introduce a list. “You will need three things” is complete on its own, and the colon tells the reader the three things are coming.
06 / PunctuationOur own example
Sam was late for one reason: the train had broken down.
Answer: B It introduces an explanation
A colon can introduce an explanation of what comes before it. The first part tells us there was a reason, and the part after the colon gives that reason.
07 / Punctuation
Answer: D The shop sold three fruits: apples, pears and plums.
A colon should follow a complete main clause. “The shop sold three fruits” makes sense on its own, so a colon can introduce the list. “The shop sold” is not complete, so a colon cannot follow it.
08 / PunctuationOur own example
My uncle (who lives in Leeds) is visiting tomorrow.
Answer: C To add extra information
Brackets hold extra information, called parenthesis. Take out “who lives in Leeds” and “My uncle is visiting tomorrow” still makes complete sense.
09 / PunctuationOur own example
Mr Patel our head teacher gave a speech.
Answer: B After Patel and after teacher
“Our head teacher” is extra information about Mr Patel. A pair of commas goes around it, just as brackets would: “Mr Patel, our head teacher, gave a speech.”
10 / PunctuationOur own example
Early the next morning we set off for the coast.
Answer: A After morning
“Early the next morning” is a fronted adverbial: it tells us when, and it comes before the main clause. A comma goes at the end of it, before “we set off”.
11 / PunctuationOur own example
Although it was raining the match carried on.
Answer: C After raining
When a subordinate clause comes first, a comma separates it from the main clause. “Although it was raining” is the subordinate clause, so the comma goes after “raining”.
12 / PunctuationOur own example
We bought bread milk eggs and cheese.
Answer: C After bread and after milk
Commas separate the items in a list. The last two items are joined by “and”, so commas are needed after “bread” and after “milk”.
13 / Punctuation
Answer: D Can you pass me the salt
Only a direct question needs a question mark. “I wonder if you could pass the salt” and “She asked if I wanted the salt” report or describe a question, so they end with a full stop.
14 / PunctuationOur own example
What a mess you have made ____
Answer: B An exclamation mark
A sentence starting “What a” that shows strong feeling, without asking anything, is an exclamation. It ends with an exclamation mark, not a question mark.
15 / PunctuationOur own example
Last summer my family drove to wales.
Answer: B wales
Wales is the name of a country, so it is a proper noun and always needs a capital letter. Seasons such as summer do not.
16 / PunctuationOur own example
My sister and i walked to the park.
Answer: A i
When “I” means yourself, it is always a capital letter, wherever it comes in the sentence.
17 / PunctuationOur own example
“Where is the dog” asked Leo.
Answer: A After dog, inside the speech marks
The words spoken are the question, so the question mark belongs to them and goes inside the closing speech marks: “Where is the dog?” asked Leo.
18 / Punctuation
Answer: C Start a new line
Each time the speaker changes, start a new line (a new paragraph). It shows the reader at once that someone else is talking.
19 / PunctuationOur own example
“I am tired” she said.
Answer: C A comma after tired, inside the speech marks
When speech comes before “she said”, the spoken words end with a comma inside the speech marks: “I am tired,” she said. The full stop comes at the very end.
20 / PunctuationOur own example
She opened the door slowly and saw…
Answer: B To build suspense by leaving it unfinished
An ellipsis (three dots) shows that words are left out or a thought trails off. Stopping just before we learn what she saw makes the reader want to know more.
21 / PunctuationOur own example
The team visited Paris, France; Rome, Italy; and Madrid, Spain.
Answer: A The items already contain commas
Each item already has a comma inside it (“Paris, France”). Semicolons between the items keep the list clear, so the reader can see where one item ends and the next begins.
22 / PunctuationOur own example
The bell rang the pupils ran outside it was raining
Answer: D Three
There are three main clauses: “The bell rang”, “the pupils ran outside” and “it was raining”. Each is a sentence, so each ends with a full stop.
23 / PunctuationOur own example
I asked my teacher if the test was today?
Answer: D It reports a question, so it needs a full stop
This sentence tells us that a question was asked; it does not ask one itself. A reported question like this ends with a full stop.
24 / Punctuation
Answer: B A pair of commas
Extra information can sit inside a pair of commas or a pair of brackets: “My aunt, a nurse, works nights” and “My aunt (a nurse) works nights” both work.
25 / Punctuation
Answer: A A colon
After a complete sentence, a colon can introduce a quotation, just as it introduces a list or an explanation: The writer makes the fog seem endless: “Fog everywhere.”
26 / Punctuation
Answer: D Too many make the writing sound less serious
Exclamation marks show strong feeling. Used now and then they add force, but a page full of them sounds shouty and less convincing in a formal letter or article.
27 / Punctuation
Answer: A Tom, close the window.
A comma after a name shows that the person is being spoken to (direct address). “Tom, close the window” is an instruction given to Tom.
28 / PunctuationOur own example
Dad said, “we need to leave now.”
Answer: A we
Speech starts with a capital letter, even in the middle of a sentence. The first spoken word here is “we”, so it should be “We”.
29 / PunctuationOur own example
I revised hard, however I still found the test difficult.
Answer: D The comma before however makes a comma splice
“However” is not a joining word like “but”. With only a comma before it, two main clauses are spliced together. Use a semicolon or full stop before it: “I revised hard; however, I still found the test difficult.”
30 / PunctuationOur own example
Please close the door behind you
Answer: C A full stop
An instruction (an imperative sentence) said calmly ends with a full stop. It is not asking anything, so it does not take a question mark.
02 / Where marks slipOne thing to watch
Joining two sentences with a comma. Use a full stop, a semicolon, or a joining word such as “because”.
03 / In the appComing to Show Working
In the app, Punctuation gives you ten questions at a time, picked from all 34, with the reason after every answer. English Language is built, but it isn’t on phones yet: it will arrive in an update.
Coming soon to the App StoreOur own questions, written for every board. Lines from books are from authors who died long enough ago that their words are free to quote. Show Working is independent and not affiliated with any exam board.
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