Every card in Grammar and vocabulary, Year 8: colons, commas and tense
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- Which punctuation mark can introduce a list after a complete sentence?
A colon
HintThe same mark separates the hours from the minutes on a digital clock.
WhyFor example: 'Pack three things: a torch, a map and a whistle.' The words before the mark must make a complete sentence without the list.
- Which punctuation mark, weaker than a full stop, can join two closely related complete sentences without a conjunction?
A semicolon
HintIt is built from two other marks, one above the other.
WhyFor example: 'The rain eased; the match went on.' It is stronger than a comma and weaker than a full stop, and shows that the two ideas belong together.
- 'The verdict was clear __ she had lied.' The second part explains the first. In formal writing, which punctuation mark best fills the gap?
A colon, to introduce the explanation
HintIt is the mark that says 'and here is why'.
WhyA colon says 'and here it is'. What follows explains, proves or gives an example of what came before.
- 'The rain eased; the match went on.' What must be true of the words on each side of a semicolon used like this?
Each side is a complete sentence
HintTry putting a full stop there instead, and see whether both halves still stand.
WhyThat is the test: if a full stop would work, a semicolon can. It is chosen when the two statements are too closely linked to separate.
- Is the semicolon used correctly here? 'I packed; a torch, a map and a whistle.'
No — 'I packed' is not a complete sentence followed by another
HintCheck whether the words after the mark could stand alone.
Why'A torch, a map and a whistle' is not a sentence, so a semicolon cannot stand before it. The sentence needs no mark at all after 'packed'.
- 'Let's eat, Grandma' and 'Let's eat Grandma': what job does the comma do in the first sentence?
It shows Grandma is being spoken to
HintWithout it, she becomes the meal.
WhyThe comma separates the person addressed from the rest of the sentence. Remove it and 'Grandma' becomes the object of 'eat'.
- Where does the comma go? 'After the storm passed the children went outside.'
After 'passed'
HintFind where the opening clause ends and the main one begins.
Why'After the storm passed' is a subordinate clause placed first, so a comma marks where it ends. Without it, the eye reads 'passed the children'.
- 'Most of the time, travellers worry about delays.' Remove the comma and the opening misleads the reader for a moment. Which two words run together?
'Time travellers'
HintRead the sentence aloud with no pause after the fourth word.
WhyThe comma shows that 'Most of the time' is a unit and 'travellers' begins the main clause. Without it, the reader briefly sees a different phrase.
- Which verb breaks the tense? 'She opened the door, looks inside and gasped.'
'Looks'
HintTwo of the three verbs are in the past.
Why'Opened' and 'gasped' are past tense, so the middle verb should be 'looked'. Drifting between tenses by accident confuses the reader about when things happen.
- A story is told in the past tense, but its last line reads: 'Even now, I hear that door.' Is this change of tense a mistake?
No — it is a deliberate shift to the present
Hint'Even now' signals that the writer means it.
WhyThe story happened then; its effect on the narrator continues today. The change of tense carries that meaning, and the phrase 'Even now' flags it.
1★ KS3-ENLA-GRA-0036
2★ KS3-ENLA-GRA-0037
3★ KS3-ENLA-GRA-0038
4★ KS3-ENLA-GRA-0039
5★ KS3-ENLA-GRA-0040
6★ KS3-ENLA-GRA-0041
7★ KS3-ENLA-GRA-0042
8★ KS3-ENLA-GRA-0043
9★ KS3-ENLA-GRA-0044
10★ KS3-ENLA-GRA-0045
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