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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 outside it
  • B.Inside only if the quotation is a question
  • C.Always inside it
2.Mia said, "The bus is here" — the sentence ends after here. Where does the period go?
  • A.Inside the closing quotation mark
  • B.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • C.After the word said
3.The words "Look out" are followed by "shouted Sam" and the sentence ends. What goes after Sam?
  • A.A comma
  • B.An exclamation point
  • C.A period
4.In Lena whispered, "The baby is asleep," which mark comes straight after whispered?
  • A.No mark at all
  • B.A comma
  • C.A period
5."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
6.Two characters are talking. What does the writer do each time a different character starts to speak?
  • A.Start a new paragraph
  • B.Use smaller quotation marks
  • C.Leave out the quotation marks
7.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
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 25 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Inside or Outside the Quotation Marks?

Set 25. Prints on its own sheet.

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