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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.In US style, where do a comma and a period go when they meet a closing quotation mark?
  • A.Always inside it
  • B.Inside only if the quotation is a question
  • C.Always outside it
2.Mia said, "The bus is here" — the sentence ends after here. Where does the period go?
  • A.After the word said
  • B.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • C.Inside the closing quotation mark
3.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
4.Dad said "soon"; we waited an hour. Where does the semicolon go?
  • A.Inside the closing quotation mark
  • B.Before the word soon
  • C.Outside the closing quotation mark
5.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
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 is a name
  • C.It begins a new sentence
7.The words "Look out" are followed by "shouted Sam" and the sentence ends. What goes after Sam?
  • A.A comma
  • B.A period
  • C.An exclamation point
8.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

LessonPrint · L.5.2 · Set 24 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Inside or Outside the Quotation Marks?

Set 24. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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