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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 3 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.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
2.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.There is no comma
  • C.Inside the closing quotation mark
3.Dad said "soon"; we waited an hour. Where does the semicolon go?
  • A.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • B.Before the word soon
  • C.Inside the closing quotation mark
4.In Lena whispered, "The baby is asleep," which mark comes straight after whispered?
  • A.No mark at all
  • B.A period
  • C.A comma
5.Two characters are talking. What does the writer do each time a different character starts to speak?
  • A.Use smaller quotation marks
  • B.Leave out the quotation marks
  • C.Start a new paragraph
6.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.It is not a name
  • C.Quotations never begin with a capital
7.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.Inside the closing quotation mark
  • B.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • C.Before the opening quotation mark
8.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

LessonPrint · L.5.2 · Set 3 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Inside or Outside the Quotation Marks?

Set 3. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Inside the closing quotation mark
  2. 2.Inside the closing quotation mark
  3. 3.Outside the closing quotation mark
  4. 4.A comma
  5. 5.Start a new paragraph
  6. 6.The second part carries on the same sentence
  7. 7.Outside the closing quotation mark
  8. 8.It begins a new sentence

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