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Inside or Outside the Quotation Marks? is a free printable Grade 5 English worksheet on where each punctuation mark goes around a quotation in US style, aligned to Common Core standard L.5.2. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Inside or Outside the Quotation Marks?

L.5.2

NameDate

Circle the right answer.

1.The words "Look out" are followed by "shouted Sam" and the sentence ends. What goes after Sam?
  • A.An exclamation point
  • B.A comma
  • C.A period
2."Stop" yelled Jo — Jo's word is shouted. Where does the exclamation point go?
  • A.Inside the closing quotation mark
  • B.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • C.At the very end, after Jo
3.Ava's words are We won, and "said Ava" comes after them. Where does the comma after won go?
  • A.Inside the closing quotation mark
  • B.There is no comma
  • C.Outside the closing quotation mark
4.Kai said that his mom told him to "wait here." Kai is quoted saying his mom's words. In US style, what goes around a quotation inside a quotation?
  • A.Parentheses
  • B.Single quotation marks
  • C.Double quotation marks
5.In Lena whispered, "The baby is asleep," which mark comes straight after whispered?
  • A.No mark at all
  • B.A comma
  • C.A period
6.In "I can carry that," said Omar. "It is not heavy," why does It begin with a capital?
  • A.Every quoted word takes a capital
  • B.It begins a new sentence
  • C.It is a name
7.A report calls the storm "the worst in fifty years." Why is there no comma before the quotation?
  • A.Reports never use commas
  • B.The quotation is a question
  • C.The quoted words fit into the writer's own sentence
8.Mia said, "The bus is here" — the sentence ends after here. Where does the period go?
  • A.Inside the closing quotation mark
  • B.After the word said
  • C.Outside the closing quotation mark

LessonPrint · L.5.2 · Set 10 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Inside or Outside the Quotation Marks?

Set 10. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.A period
  2. 2.Inside the closing quotation mark
  3. 3.Inside the closing quotation mark
  4. 4.Single quotation marks
  5. 5.A comma
  6. 6.It begins a new sentence
  7. 7.The quoted words fit into the writer's own sentence
  8. 8.Inside the closing quotation mark

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to L.5.2 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.