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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.Inside only if the quotation is a question
  • B.Always outside it
  • C.Always inside it
2.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.Outside the closing quotation mark
  • B.Before the opening quotation mark
  • C.Inside the closing quotation mark
3.Ava's words are We won, and "said Ava" comes after them. Where does the comma after won go?
  • A.There is no comma
  • B.Inside the closing quotation mark
  • C.Outside the closing quotation mark
4.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
5.Kai said that his mom told him to "wait here." Kai is quoted saying his mom's words. In US style, what goes around a quotation inside a quotation?
  • A.Single quotation marks
  • B.Parentheses
  • C.Double quotation marks
6.A report calls the storm "the worst in fifty years." Why is there no comma before the quotation?
  • A.Reports never use commas
  • B.The quoted words fit into the writer's own sentence
  • C.The quotation is a question
7.The words "Look out" are followed by "shouted Sam" and the sentence ends. What goes after Sam?
  • A.An exclamation point
  • B.A period
  • C.A comma
8.Dad said "soon"; we waited an hour. Where does the semicolon go?
  • A.Before the word soon
  • B.Inside the closing quotation mark
  • C.Outside the closing quotation mark

LessonPrint · L.5.2 · Set 4 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Inside or Outside the Quotation Marks?

Set 4. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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