Grammar – the very word makes most of us moan, but the importance of good grammar can't be emphasised enough. In this section of the site you'll find information about the grammar curriculum, how to encourage good grammar habits in your child and spotting and fixing the most common grammar mistakes.
You'll also find lots of worksheets divided by school year and focusing on each of the different grammar skills that your child needs to master, such as apostrophes, tenses, verbs and subordinate clauses, as well as information on the new Year 6 Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (SPAG) test and exclusive SPAG practice papers.
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Grammar in primary school
From abstract nouns to verb tenses and the passive voice, your child will be taught lots of grammatical terminology and concepts during their time in primary school. Find out more about what they learn, when, and how grammar knowledge is tested in KS1 SATs and KS2 SATs.
Do you know the difference between the subject and the subjunctive? Can you identify a relative clause or find a phrase? From active voice to verb tense, TheSchoolRun's primary-school grammar glossary offers a complete guide to all the grammatical concepts children are taught in EYFS, KS1 and KS2 English. As well as basic definitions we offer more detailed explanations, teachers' tips and examples for each grammar term.
With all Year 6 children now required to take a spelling, punctuation and grammar test and more emphasis on the technical side of English in the new primary curriculum, we asked the experts for their top tips and practical activities to help your child engage with – and enjoy – grammar.
The present tense is used for an action that is taking place now. The past tense is used for an action that has already happened (this could be yesterday or a hundred years ago). Although many English verbs form their past tense by adding the suffix -ed, some do not. These are called irregular verbs. Can you write the past tense for each of these verbs and then learn how to spell them?
Maisie has written a letter to her favourite author, but she has forgotten all the punctuation! Can you go through her letter and add in capital letters and full stops? You may also need to include some exclamation marks, question marks and commas.
Whatever aspect of grammar you need to brush up on, our parents' guides to primary grammar explain what you need to know to support your child's learning at home. Subjects and subjective, complex and compound sentences, pronouns and prefixes - they're all covered, with examples and teachers' tips to help boost your child's confidence.
Prepare your child for the Year 6 Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (SPAG) test
The new English grammar, punctuation and spelling test (informally known as the SPAG test) is now part of the KS2 SATs programme for Year 6 pupils, replacing the previous English writing test. Find out all about the SPAG test and download practice papers to help your child prepare:
Make grammar learning fun: discover two great grammar learning packs
Great Grammar Games: From proper nouns to pronouns, statements to subordinate clauses and articles to adverbs, help your child revise KS2 grammar the fun way with our Great Grammar Games learning pack. A friendly, grammar- and flamingo-obsessed Grammar Gator offers tips, tricks, exercises and activities to help your child practise all aspects of basic English grammar, helping them prepare for the Y6 grammar SATs in play-packed sessions.
Perfect Punctuation Workbook: Full stops, commas, semi colons, apostrophes… Whatever aspect of punctuation your child is grappling with, we’ve come up with a bumper pack of 60 activities to help them practise, as well as a parent's refresher guide to each punctuation mark and how it's used.
Grammar Made Easy is for every parent who wants their primary child to do well at school, to see them gain top marks for grammar and punctuation and use language as a door to future opportunities.
Each chapter of the eBook focuses on a specific area – such as tenses or apostrophes – and provides clear, simple explanations of rules to remember, plus examples of what’s right, what’s wrong and why. Then, there are quiz questions to recap and check that your child has understood everything.
This instant-download eBook covers all the key points that you and your child need to remember (plus the mistakes you need to avoid!), in a way that everyone can understand.
