KS2 English textbook

Chapter 9: Brackets, dashes, commas and speech

Strand Punctuation
Level Year 6
Practice 95 questions with step-by-step solutions

National Curriculum for England, Key Stage 2 English, Year 6. Content: Use brackets, dashes or commas to indicate a parenthesis, which is extra information that can be removed (Y5-6 punctuation), Use commas to clarify meaning and avoid ambiguity (Y5-6 punctuation), Punctuate direct speech in longer dialogue: a new line for each speaker, and the end mark inside the speech marks (Y5-6 punctuation), Compare direct speech with reported speech, and change one into the other (Y5-6 grammar and punctuation).

Open Year 6 chapter

By the end of this chapter you will be able to

Mark extra information with brackets, a pair of dashes or a pair of commas
Choose the device that suits the sentence, and check that the sentence still makes sense without the extra part
Add a comma so that a sentence cannot be misread
Set out a dialogue with a new line for each speaker, and the correct speech marks
Change direct speech into reported speech, changing the pronouns and tenses

You should already know

Direct speech and its punctuation (Year 4 Chapter 5)
Commas after fronted adverbials and in lists (Year 4 punctuation)

Where this leads

Writing for purpose, and writing dialogue in stories (Chapter 12 of this book)

Lessons in this chapter

Read the whole chapter on one page (good for printing).

Practise with real exam questions

The DfE publishes every past KS2 test, with mark schemes, for free.

KS2 English past papers