Year 3 English · Punctuation · Summary

Year 3 English Punctuation: summary and key words

Part of the Year 3 English punctuation chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

Chapter summary

Skill	Method
Direct speech	The exact words a speaker says, in inverted commas (speech marks): "Hello," said Mia.
Reporting clause	Tells who speaks and sits outside the inverted commas: said Mia. It can come before, after or in the middle.
End mark in speech	The comma, question mark or exclamation mark goes inside the closing inverted commas.
Fronted adverbial	Comes first and tells when, where, why or how. Put a comma after it: Later that day, Ben read a book.
Commas in a list	Put a comma between the items, but not before and: bread, jam and milk.
Contraction	An apostrophe shows missing letters: don't, can't, won't, it's, I'm.
One owner	Apostrophe and s, before the s: the dog's bone, Sam's hat.
More than one owner	Apostrophe after the s when the owner ends in s: the girls' rooms. Apostrophe and s when it does not: the children's toys.

I can put inverted commas round the exact words someone says
I can put the comma, question mark or exclamation mark inside the closing inverted commas
I can punctuate speech when the reporting clause comes before, after or in the middle
I can put a comma after a fronted adverbial at the start of a sentence
I can use commas between the items in a list, and and before the last item
I can use an apostrophe for a short form, such as don't, and for the owner of one thing
I can put the apostrophe in the right place for more than one owner
I can use the terms inverted commas, apostrophe and comma

direct speech: the exact words a speaker says, written inside inverted commas
inverted commas: the marks ("") that go round direct speech; also called speech marks
reporting clause: the words that tell who speaks, such as said Mia
fronted adverbial: an adverbial at the start of a sentence, followed by a comma
list: three or more things in one sentence, with commas between them
comma: a mark (,) that separates the items in a list, or a fronted adverbial from the main clause
apostrophe: a mark (') that shows missing letters, as in don't, or an owner, as in Sam's hat
contraction: a short form of two words with letters left out, such as I'm for I am
singular owner: one owner: add an apostrophe and s, as in the dog's bone
plural owner: more than one owner: the apostrophe goes after the s if the owner ends in s, or apostrophe and s if it does not