GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION AND SPELLING (G.P.S.)
Parent Information
The new Key Stage 2 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test (Year 6 SAT)
will assess elements of levels 3-5 of the current National Curriculum for English.
Key Words
Word Level
Grammar
Examples
Nouns: Nouns are words that name things.
Common nouns are the words that we use to talk about
everyday objects, animals, people and places.
Proper Nouns are the special names we give to a particular
person, animal or place.
Table, pencil
Girl, man, rabbit, school
Pronouns are words we use in place of nouns.
He, she, her, we, they, it.
Jack tried to carry his bag, but it was too
heavy for him.
Adjectives are describing words. They tell you more about
a noun.
The walker was exhausted as he climbed
the steep hill.
A verb is a doing or being word. Verbs often tell us actions
– what someone or something is doing.
The frog jumps.
I have black hair.
I am 10 years old.
Adverbs are words that give extra information about the
verb in a sentence. They tell us how, where and when
things happen.
Outside, the man was talking cheerfully.
Prepositions are little words that can add extra information
in sentences. They tell us where (on, in, under, over) and
when (before, after, during, on).
The man waited at the bus stop, by the
post office.
The shop was broken into during the night.
Comparative adjectives are used to compare two things.
Mrs Jones is older than Mr Jackson.
Superlatives are adjectives that show the most or least of
everything.
Mrs Jones is the oldest person on our
street.
Plural means more than one of something.
A dog – lots of dogs.
A leaf – a tree full of leaves.
A sheep – a flock of sheep.
Connectives are words and phrases that help to link
together ideas.
Cinderella was delighted with the
beautiful dress. However, it still did not
help her get to the ball.
Some connectives link together ideas within a sentence –
these are called conjunctions.
Despite the rain, Jack walked to the
shops.
Rachel, Lee, Manchester
Grammar Key Words
Complex sentences are sentences that have a conjunction.
They link 2 or more ideas together within a sentence.
In a complex sentence, the main clause makes sense by
itself. The subordinate clause gives extra information and
does not make sense if you read it without the main clause.
A simple sentence just has one thing to say.
A compound sentence is made when you join two simple
sentences together. A connecting word (or conjunction)
like and, but or so is used to join the sentences.
The man continued on his way, although
it was getting dark.
The man became angry when no-one
would let him in.
Main clause
Subordinate clause
The dragon ran away.
It was becoming dark. Joe was beginning
to worry.
It was becoming dark and Joe was
beginning to worry.
Tense refers to when something happens. Verbs can be
past, present or future tense.
Past tense is used when something has already happened.
Present tense is used when something is happening now.
Sentence Level
Future tense is used when it is yet to happen.
First person is when the writer speaks about himself or
herself.
Yesterday I played outside.
I play outside.
I am playing outside.
Tomorrow, I shall play outside.
I am late.
Second person is when the writer speaks directly to the
reader.
You are late.
Third person is when the writer speaks about someone else.
He is late.
Statements are sentences that tell someone something and
usually end with a full stop.
You are going to school.
Questions are sentences that ask something and end with a
question mark.
Are you going to school?
Commands are sentences that order someone to do
something and end with an exclamation mark.
Go to school!
Direct speech is when you write down exactly what the
person said using inverted commas (speech marks).
“I have no-one to help me,” said Mrs
Jones.
Reported speech is when you write what is said, but do not
use the exact words spoken – you report it in your own
words.
Mrs Jones said that she had no-one to
help her.
Active and passive sentences are versions of sentences
that say the same thing but with different emphasis.
The pirates hid the treasure (active).
The treasure was hidden by the pirates
(passive).
Standard English is English that follows accepted rules of
grammar and that many believe to be „correct‟. It is used in
formal situations.
e.g. The man weren‟t not dead on his feet,
becomes:
The man was not very tired.
Spelling
Punctuation
Grammar Key Words
Capital letters are used:
 For proper nouns – names of people, nationalities,
countries, places, days, months, etc.
 To start a sentence.
 For the personal pronoun „I‟.
 For the main words in titles.
When I went to London last June, I saw a
play called „Rising Stars‟.
Commas are used:
1. To separate words in a list.
2. To separate direct speech from the speaker.
3. In a complex sentence.
1.
Apostrophes are used:
1.
To show omission – where a letter or letters are
missed out of a word (these words are called
contractions).
2. To show possession – to show that something belongs
to someone or something.
I saw a kingfisher, heron and some
geese on the canal.
2. He said, “Let‟s go to the gym this
week”.
3. While travelling up the hill, I stared at
the beautiful scenery.
1. I can’t come today.
2. That is Kyle’s cat.
Inverted commas (speech marks) show what is being said.
The man shouted “Get out of the way!”
Semi Colon, Colon, Ellipses, Brackets
;
A prefix is a group of letters placed at the start of a word
which changes its meaning.
Disappear
Impossible
Unhelpful
Redesign
A suffix is a group of letters placed at the end of a word
that adds to the meaning of a word.
Beautiful
Colourless
Quickly
Synonyms are words that have the same (or similar)
meaning.
Synonyms of quiet – peaceful, tranquil,
calm
Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings.
Disappear and vanish are antonyms of
appear.
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