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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 16 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.A report calls the storm "the worst in fifty years." Why is there no comma before the quotation?
  • A.The quotation is a question
  • B.Reports never use commas
  • C.The quoted words fit into the writer's own sentence
2.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
3.In "After lunch," said Mrs. Park, "we will start," why does we begin with a small letter?
  • A.Quotations never begin with a capital
  • B.It is not a name
  • C.The second part carries on the same sentence
4.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.Every quoted word takes a capital
  • C.It is a name
5.Two characters are talking. What does the writer do each time a different character starts to speak?
  • A.Leave out the quotation marks
  • B.Use smaller quotation marks
  • C.Start a new paragraph
6.Dad said "soon"; we waited an hour. Where does the semicolon go?
  • A.Inside the closing quotation mark
  • B.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • C.Before the word soon
7."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
8.Ava's words are We won, and "said Ava" comes after them. Where does the comma after won go?
  • A.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • B.Inside the closing quotation mark
  • C.There is no comma

LessonPrint · L.5.2 · Set 16 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Inside or Outside the Quotation Marks?

Set 16. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The quoted words fit into the writer's own sentence
  2. 2.Always inside it
  3. 3.The second part carries on the same sentence
  4. 4.It begins a new sentence
  5. 5.Start a new paragraph
  6. 6.Outside the closing quotation mark
  7. 7.Inside the closing quotation mark
  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.