SPaG in the 11+: Grammar, Punctuation and Sentence Variety

Quick, high‑impact fixes examiners reward: accurate punctuation, clean sentences, correct homophones, and clear variety.

Punctuation Essentials

  • Full stops: End every sentence clearly. Avoid run-ons.
  • Commas: lists, clauses after openers (e.g., "However, …"), and before coordinating conjunctions when joining two clauses.
  • Apostrophes: possession (the teacher’s book) vs contraction (it’s = it is). Never for plurals.
  • Speech marks: new paragraph for a new speaker; punctuation inside quotes.

Common Homophones

there / their / they’re

place / belonging / they are

its / it’s

belonging / it is

to / too / two

preposition / also / number

your / you’re

belonging / you are

Sentence Variety Patterns

  • Fronted adverbial: "In the distance, the bus appeared."
  • –ing opener: "Shivering, I pulled my coat tighter."
  • Short impact: "Then silence."
  • Compound: "It started to rain, but we carried on."
  • Complex: "Although the track was muddy, we kept running."

2-Minute Edit Checks

  1. End marks on every sentence; capital letters at starts and for names.
  2. Circle homophones; correct any wrong ones.
  3. Add one varied opener; remove one repeated word.

Practice

  1. Fix the punctuation in a 5-sentence paragraph.
  2. Rewrite 3 sentences using different openers and one short impact line.
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