← Back to the activity

Year 10 English — Punctuating complex sentences

Place the commas, semicolons and full stops that a sentence of more than one clause needs.

Name: ________________________

  1. 1.Match each faulty sentence to the correction it needs.

    • It was late, we went home.
    • Although it was late we went home.
    • We went home it was late.
    • We went home, because, it was late.
    • take out both commas
    • add a comma after the opening clause
    • put a full stop between the two halves
    • replace the comma with a semicolon

  2. 2.Rewrite this with the subordinate clause first, adding the comma it then needs. "We stayed indoors because the wind was fierce." Write the whole sentence.

  3. 3."The lights went out, we finished the game by lamplight." Three of these corrections work. Which one leaves the sentence still wrong?

    • a) The lights went out; we finished the game by lamplight.
    • b) The lights went out, so we finished the game by lamplight.
    • c) The lights went out. We finished the game by lamplight.
    • d) The lights went out, we finished the game, by lamplight.

  4. 4.Each sentence joins a subordinate clause to a main clause. Sort by whether a comma is needed at the join.

    Groups: A comma is needed · No comma is needed

    • If you finish early you may go home.
    • Because the tap was leaking we called a plumber.
    • We called a plumber because the tap was leaking.
    • The children ran out when the bell rang.
    • When the bell rang the children ran out.
    • You may go home if you finish early.

  5. 5.Put the cards in order to make one correct sentence.

    • on the list.
    • the shop was crowded,
    • Although
    • we found
    • everything

  6. 6.Match each mark to the job it does between clauses.

    • a comma
    • a semicolon
    • a full stop
    • a colon
    • a pair of dashes
    • introduces a list or an explanation of what came before
    • throws in an aside, more informally than commas would
    • ends one sentence so that the next can begin
    • joins two main clauses that are closely related
    • closes off an opening subordinate clause

  7. 7.Which mark joins these two closely linked sentences without any joining word? "The library was silent. Nobody had come in all afternoon."

    • a) an apostrophe
    • b) a hyphen
    • c) a comma
    • d) a semicolon

  8. 8.Where does the comma belong? "When the results of the district competition were finally announced the whole class cheered."

    • a) after "class"
    • b) after "When"
    • c) after "announced"
    • d) after "competition"

Answer key — Year 10 English — Punctuating complex sentences

  1. 1. It was late, we went home. → replace the comma with a semicolon; Although it was late we went home. → add a comma after the opening clause; We went home it was late. → put a full stop between the two halves; We went home, because, it was late. → take out both commas
  2. 2. because the wind was fierce, we stayed indoors
  3. 3. d) The lights went out, we finished the game, by lamplight.
  4. 4. Because the tap was leaking we called a plumber. → A comma is needed; We called a plumber because the tap was leaking. → No comma is needed; When the bell rang the children ran out. → A comma is needed; The children ran out when the bell rang. → No comma is needed; If you finish early you may go home. → A comma is needed; You may go home if you finish early. → No comma is needed
  5. 5. 1. Although 2. the shop was crowded, 3. we found 4. everything 5. on the list.
  6. 6. a comma → closes off an opening subordinate clause; a semicolon → joins two main clauses that are closely related; a full stop → ends one sentence so that the next can begin; a colon → introduces a list or an explanation of what came before; a pair of dashes → throws in an aside, more informally than commas would
  7. 7. d) a semicolon
  8. 8. c) after "announced"