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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 14 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.Two characters are talking. What does the writer do each time a different character starts to speak?
  • A.Start a new paragraph
  • B.Leave out the quotation marks
  • C.Use smaller quotation marks
2.Grandma's words are Where are my keys, and "asked Grandma" comes after them. What goes after keys?
  • A.A question mark after Grandma
  • B.A comma inside the closing quotation mark
  • C.A question mark inside the closing quotation mark
3.In "I can carry that," said Omar. "It is not heavy," why does It begin with a capital?
  • A.It is a name
  • B.Every quoted word takes a capital
  • C.It begins a new sentence
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.Before the opening quotation mark
  • B.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • C.Inside the closing quotation mark
5.Ben asked, "Is it raining" — Ben's words are the question. Where does the question mark go?
  • A.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • B.After the word asked
  • C.Inside the closing quotation mark
6.In US style, where do a comma and a period go when they meet a closing quotation mark?
  • A.Always outside it
  • B.Inside only if the quotation is a question
  • C.Always inside it
7.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.Double quotation marks
  • B.Parentheses
  • C.Single quotation marks
8.Mia said, "The bus is here" — the sentence ends after here. Where does the period go?
  • A.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • B.After the word said
  • C.Inside the closing quotation mark

LessonPrint · L.5.2 · Set 14 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Inside or Outside the Quotation Marks?

Set 14. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Start a new paragraph
  2. 2.A question mark inside the closing quotation mark
  3. 3.It begins a new sentence
  4. 4.Outside the closing quotation mark
  5. 5.Inside the closing quotation mark
  6. 6.Always inside it
  7. 7.Single quotation marks
  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.