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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.Mia said, "The bus is here" — the sentence ends after here. Where does the period go?
  • A.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • B.Inside the closing quotation mark
  • C.After the word said
2.In Lena whispered, "The baby is asleep," which mark comes straight after whispered?
  • A.A period
  • B.No mark at all
  • C.A comma
3.In US style, where do a comma and a period go when they meet a closing quotation mark?
  • A.Always outside it
  • B.Always inside it
  • C.Inside only if the quotation is a question
4."Stop" yelled Jo — Jo's word is shouted. Where does the exclamation point go?
  • A.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • B.Inside the closing quotation mark
  • C.At the very end, after Jo
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.Grandma's words are Where are my keys, and "asked Grandma" comes after them. What goes after keys?
  • A.A comma inside the closing quotation mark
  • B.A question mark after Grandma
  • C.A question mark inside the closing quotation mark
7.The words "Look out" are followed by "shouted Sam" and the sentence ends. What goes after Sam?
  • A.A period
  • B.An exclamation point
  • C.A comma
8.A report calls the storm "the worst in fifty years." Why is there no comma before the quotation?
  • A.The quoted words fit into the writer's own sentence
  • B.Reports never use commas
  • C.The quotation is a question

LessonPrint · L.5.2 · Set 18 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Inside or Outside the Quotation Marks?

Set 18. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Inside the closing quotation mark
  2. 2.A comma
  3. 3.Always inside it
  4. 4.Inside the closing quotation mark
  5. 5.Start a new paragraph
  6. 6.A question mark inside the closing quotation mark
  7. 7.A period
  8. 8.The quoted words fit into the writer's own sentence

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