Punctuation – English Grammar Exercises for A2
You are writing an angry online review for a restaurant. To prove how bad the service was, you want to quote exactly what the staff said to you. Choose the correct option (A, B, or C) to complete the sentences. Pay close attention to quotation marks (” “), capitalization, and where the punctuation goes!
1 The waiter looked at my family and said, ______
(A) “we are too busy for you.”
(B) We are too busy for you.
(C) “We are too busy for you.”
2 When I asked for a clean fork, he yelled, ______
(A) “Wash it yourself!”
(B) “Wash it yourself”!
(C) Wash it yourself!
3 ______ the hostess told us at the door.
(A) “You have to wait.”
(B) “You have to wait,”
(C) “You have to wait”,
4 I asked if the food was spicy, and she replied, ______
(A) “How should I know”?
(B) “how should I know?”
(C) “How should I know?”
5 ______ the manager shouted across the restaurant.
(A) “Get out!”
(B) “Get out”!
(C) Get out!
6 We waited for an hour. Finally, the waiter walked over and said, ______
(A) “what do you want?”
(B) “What do you want?”
(C) What do you want?
7 I told him the steak was burned, and he just said, ______
(A) “That is how we cook it”.
(B) “that is how we cook it.”
(C) “That is how we cook it.”
8 ______ she complained when I asked for extra napkins.
(A) “You are so annoying,”
(B) “You are so annoying”,
(C) “You are so annoying.”
9 When I asked for the bill, the waiter sighed and said, ______
(A) “Pay at the front”.
(B) “Pay at the front.”
(C) pay at the front.
10 “Can I speak to the manager?” I asked. He laughed and said, ______
(A) “I am the manager.”
(B) “I am the manager”.
(C) “i am the manager.”
11 ______ she snapped, taking my plate away before I was finished.
(A) “We need this table.”
(B) “We need this table”,
(C) “We need this table,”
12 I pointed out a mistake on the receipt, and he said, ______
(A) “Not my problem”.
(B) “Not my problem.”
(C) Not my problem.
13 “Are you going to order or just sit ______ the rude waiter asked.
(A) there?”
(B) there”?
(C) there?
14 I politely asked for some water, and she muttered, ______
(A) “Get it yourself”.
(B) “get it yourself.”
(C) “Get it yourself.”
15 “We do not serve people like you ______ the owner yelled at us.
(A) “,
(B) ,”
(C) .”
16 I couldn’t believe my ears when the cashier said, ______
(A) “No tips, no service.”
(B) “no tips, no service.”
(C) No tips, no service.
17 He threw the menu on our table and said, ______
(A) “Hurry up and choose”.
(B) “hurry up and choose.”
(C) “Hurry up and choose.”
18 ______ the waitress said as she rolled her eyes.
(A) “Whatever.”
(B) “Whatever,”
(C) “Whatever”,
19 I told them I would write a bad review. The manager smiled and said, ______
(A) “We do not care”.
(B) “we do not care.”
(C) “We do not care.”
20 When my child started crying, the waiter walked by and said, ______
(A) “Keep the kid quiet.”
(B) “Keep the kid quiet”.
(C) “keep the kid quiet.”
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C)
Explanation: When quoting someone’s exact words, you must put quotation marks (” “) around what they said. You also must capitalize the first letter inside the quote. (A) uses a lowercase “w”. (B) is missing the quotation marks.
2 (A)
Explanation: Punctuation marks like exclamation points (!) and question marks (?) should be placed inside the closing quotation mark. (B) puts the exclamation point outside, which is a common mistake. (C) has no quotes.
3 (B)
Explanation: When the speaking tag (e.g., “the hostess told us”) comes after the quote, you use a comma (,) inside the quotation marks, not a full stop. (A) uses a full stop incorrectly. (C) puts the comma outside the quotation marks.
4 (C)
Explanation: The quoted sentence is a question, so the question mark goes inside the quotes. The first letter must be capitalized. (A) puts the question mark outside. (B) fails to capitalize the first letter “H”.
5 (A)
Explanation: The exclamation mark belongs to the quoted words, so it goes inside the quotation marks. (B) has the punctuation outside. (C) is missing the quotation marks completely.
6 (B)
Explanation: The quote must start with a capital letter, and the question mark goes inside. (A) uses a lowercase “w”. (C) is missing the quotation marks.
7 (C)
Explanation: The full stop (.) belongs inside the quotation marks at the end of the sentence. (A) puts the full stop outside. (B) forgets to capitalize the first letter.
8 (A)
Explanation: Because the speaking tag (“she complained”) follows the quote, we use a comma, and it must go inside the quotation marks. (B) puts the comma outside. (C) uses a full stop, which incorrectly breaks the sentence.
9 (B)
Explanation: The full stop goes inside the closing quotation mark. (A) is the common mistake of putting it outside. (C) is missing quotation marks and a capital letter.
10 (A)
Explanation: The correct format is: capital letter to start, full stop inside the quotes at the end. (B) has the full stop outside. (C) fails to capitalize the pronoun “I”.
11 (C)
Explanation: A comma is needed inside the quotes because the speaking tag (“she snapped”) comes after it. (A) incorrectly uses a full stop. (B) puts the comma outside.
12 (B)
Explanation: The direct quote is enclosed in quotation marks, begins with a capital letter, and ends with a full stop inside the quotes. (A) puts the full stop outside. (C) is missing quotation marks entirely.
13 (A)
Explanation: The quoted words form a question, so the question mark must go inside the quotation marks. (B) places it outside. (C) forgets the closing quotation mark.
14 (C)
Explanation: Start with a capital letter and keep the full stop inside the quotes. (A) puts the full stop outside. (B) uses a lowercase “g”.
15 (B)
Explanation: The speaker’s tag (“the owner yelled at us”) comes after the quote. Therefore, we use a comma, and the comma goes inside the quotation marks. (A) puts the comma outside. (C) uses a full stop, creating a grammar error.
16 (A)
Explanation: Exact spoken words require quotation marks, a capital letter at the beginning, and the punctuation inside. (B) starts with a lowercase letter. (C) has no quotes, making it seem like the writer’s own thought, not a quote.
17 (C)
Explanation: The full stop must be kept inside the closing quotation mark. (A) puts it outside. (B) forgets to capitalize the first word “Hurry”.
18 (B)
Explanation: Since the phrase “the waitress said” follows the quote, a comma must be used inside the quotation marks. (A) uses a full stop, which makes the next part a fragment. (C) puts the comma outside.
19 (C)
Explanation: The full stop goes inside the quotes. (A) is a very common punctuation error. (B) starts with a lowercase letter.
20 (A)
Explanation: The complete quote needs quotation marks, a capital letter, and the full stop on the inside. (B) puts the full stop outside. (C) fails to capitalize the first letter.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- The Quotation Marks (” “): Always use quotation marks around the exact words someone says. This is called Direct Speech. It helps your writing look objective and authentic, especially when providing evidence in a review.
- The Golden Rule of Capitalization: The first word inside the quotation marks must always begin with a capital letter, even if it is in the middle of your sentence. (e.g., He looked at me and said, “Leave.”)
- Punctuation Goes INSIDE: In standard formatting, commas (,), full stops (.), question marks (?), and exclamation points (!) that belong to the quote should be placed inside the closing quotation mark.
- Correct: “Get out!”
- Incorrect: “Get out”!
- The Comma Rule: If you put the speaking tag (like he said or she yelled) after the quote, use a comma instead of a full stop at the end of the spoken words. The comma goes inside the quotes.
- Correct: “We are closed,” she said.
- Incorrect: “We are closed.” she said.
- Incorrect: “We are closed”, she said.