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Class 9 English — Punctuating complex sentences

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

Name: ________________________

  1. 1.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.

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

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

  3. 3.Which sentence uses the colon correctly?

    • a) We needed three things: rope, water and a map.
    • b) We: needed three things, rope, water and a map.
    • c) We needed: rope, water and a map.
    • d) We needed three things, rope: water and a map.

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

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

  5. 5."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, so we finished the game by lamplight.
    • b) The lights went out; 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.

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

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

  7. 7.Each card holds two pieces of a sentence, split by a slash. Sort by whether a semicolon could join them.

    Groups: Yes — both halves are complete sentences · No — one half cannot stand alone

    • The road was closed / we turned back
    • The road was closed / after the landslide
    • The sky darkened / the birds fell silent
    • The sky darkened / because a storm was coming
    • She opened the letter / her hands were shaking
    • She opened the letter / which had come that morning

  8. 8.Sort each sentence by whether its punctuation is correct.

    Groups: Correctly punctuated · Wrongly punctuated

    • Because the road was closed, we took the long way round.
    • Because, the road was closed we took the long way round.
    • The gate was locked, so we climbed over the wall.
    • The gate was locked so, we climbed over the wall.
    • We waited for an hour, the train never came.
    • We waited for an hour; the train never came.

Answer key — Class 9 English — Punctuating complex sentences

  1. 1. because the wind was fierce, we stayed indoors
  2. 2. 1. Although 2. the shop was crowded, 3. we found 4. everything 5. on the list.
  3. 3. a) We needed three things: rope, water and a map.
  4. 4. d) a semicolon
  5. 5. c) The lights went out, we finished the game, by lamplight.
  6. 6. c) after "announced"
  7. 7. The sky darkened / the birds fell silent → Yes — both halves are complete sentences; The sky darkened / because a storm was coming → No — one half cannot stand alone; She opened the letter / her hands were shaking → Yes — both halves are complete sentences; She opened the letter / which had come that morning → No — one half cannot stand alone; The road was closed / we turned back → Yes — both halves are complete sentences; The road was closed / after the landslide → No — one half cannot stand alone
  8. 8. We waited for an hour; the train never came. → Correctly punctuated; We waited for an hour, the train never came. → Wrongly punctuated; Because the road was closed, we took the long way round. → Correctly punctuated; Because, the road was closed we took the long way round. → Wrongly punctuated; The gate was locked, so we climbed over the wall. → Correctly punctuated; The gate was locked so, we climbed over the wall. → Wrongly punctuated