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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.

Set 11 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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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.In US style, where do a comma and a period go when they meet a closing quotation mark?
  • A.Inside only if the quotation is a question
  • B.Always inside it
  • C.Always outside it
2.In "After lunch," said Mrs. Park, "we will start," why does we begin with a small letter?
  • A.The second part carries on the same sentence
  • B.Quotations never begin with a capital
  • C.It is not a name
3.Two characters are talking. What does the writer do each time a different character starts to speak?
  • A.Use smaller quotation marks
  • B.Leave out the quotation marks
  • C.Start a new paragraph
4.Did the coach say "two more laps" — the whole sentence is a question, but the coach's words are not. Where does the question mark go?
  • A.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • B.Before the opening quotation mark
  • C.Inside the closing quotation mark
5.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.Single quotation marks
  • B.Double quotation marks
  • C.Parentheses
6.Dad said "soon"; we waited an hour. Where does the semicolon go?
  • A.Before the word soon
  • B.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • C.Inside the closing quotation mark
7.Ava's words are We won, and "said Ava" comes after them. Where does the comma after won go?
  • A.There is no comma
  • B.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • C.Inside the closing quotation mark
8.In "I can carry that," said Omar. "It is not heavy," why does It begin with a capital?
  • A.It begins a new sentence
  • B.It is a name
  • C.Every quoted word takes a capital

LessonPrint · L.5.2 · Set 11 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Inside or Outside the Quotation Marks?

Set 11. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Always inside it
  2. 2.The second part carries on the same sentence
  3. 3.Start a new paragraph
  4. 4.Outside the closing quotation mark
  5. 5.Single quotation marks
  6. 6.Outside the closing quotation mark
  7. 7.Inside the closing quotation mark
  8. 8.It begins a new sentence

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