Use commas, apostrophes, and quotation marks correctly.
Arkansas Academic Standards:
L.4.2.C
Arizona Academic Standards:
4.L.2.b
Common Core State Standards:
Literacy.L.4.2b
Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE):
ELAGSE4L2b
Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS):
L.4.2.b
Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks:
L.4.2.c
Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards:
L.4.2b
New York State Next Generation Learning Standards:
Tennessee Academic Standards:
4.FL.SC.6.g
Use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text.
North Carolina - Standard Course of Study:
L.4.2.b
Use commas and quotations to mark direct speech and quotations from a text
Wisconsin Academic Standards:
L.4.6.b
commas and quotation marks for quotations,
Arizona Academic Standards:
4.L.2.c
Common Core State Standards:
Literacy.L.4.2c
Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE):
ELAGSE4L2c
Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS):
L.4.2.c
Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks:
L.4.2.d
Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards:
L.4.2c
New York State Next Generation Learning Standards:
Tennessee Academic Standards:
4.FL.SC.6.h
Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.
North Carolina - Standard Course of Study:
L.4.2.c
Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence
Wisconsin Academic Standards:
L.4.6.c
commas in compound sentences, and
Pennsylvania Core Standards:
CC.1.4.4.F
Demonstrate a grade-appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation,and spelling.
E04.D.1.1.1 - Use relative pronouns (e.g., who, whose, whom, which, that) and relative adverbs (e.g., where, when, why).
E04.D.1.1.2 - Form and use the progressive verb tenses (e.g., I was walking, I am walking, I will be walking).
E04.D.1.1.3 - Use modal auxiliaries (e.g., can, may, must) to convey various conditions.
E04.D.1.1.4 - Order adjectives within sentences according to conventional patterns (e.g., a small red bag rather than a red small bag).
E04.D.1.1.5 - Form and use prepositional phrases.
E04.D.1.1.6 - Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and run-on sentences.*
E04.D.1.1.7 - Correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to, too, two; there, their, they’re).*
E04.D.1.1.8 - Ensure subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement.*
E04.D.1.2.1 - Use correct capitalization.
E04.D.1.2.2 - Use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text.
E04.D.1.2.3 - Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.
E04.D.1.2.4 - Spell grade-appropriate words correctly
Pennsylvania Core Standards:
CC.1.4.4.L
Demonstrate a grade-appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation,and spelling.
E04.D.1.1.1 - Use relative pronouns (e.g., who, whose, whom, which, that) and relative adverbs (e.g., where, when, why).
E04.D.1.1.2 - Form and use the progressive verb tenses (e.g., I was walking, I am walking, I will be walking).
E04.D.1.1.3 - Use modal auxiliaries (e.g., can, may, must) to convey various conditions.
E04.D.1.1.4 - Order adjectives within sentences according to conventional patterns (e.g., a small red bag rather than a red small bag).
E04.D.1.1.5 - Form and use prepositional phrases.
E04.D.1.1.6 - Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and run-on sentences.*
E04.D.1.1.7 - Correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to, too, two; there, their, they’re).*
E04.D.1.1.8 - Ensure subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement.*
E04.D.1.2.1 - Use correct capitalization.
E04.D.1.2.2 - Use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text.
E04.D.1.2.3 - Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.
E04.D.1.2.4 - Spell grade-appropriate words correctly
Pennsylvania Core Standards:
CC.1.4.4.R
Demonstrate a grade-appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation,and spelling.
E04.D.1.1.1 - Use relative pronouns (e.g., who, whose, whom, which, that) and relative adverbs (e.g., where, when, why).
E04.D.1.1.2 - Form and use the progressive verb tenses (e.g., I was walking, I am walking, I will be walking).
E04.D.1.1.3 - Use modal auxiliaries (e.g., can, may, must) to convey various conditions.
E04.D.1.1.4 - Order adjectives within sentences according to conventional patterns (e.g., a small red bag rather than a red small bag).
E04.D.1.1.5 - Form and use prepositional phrases.
E04.D.1.1.6 - Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and run-on sentences.*
E04.D.1.1.7 - Correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to, too, two; there, their, they’re).*
E04.D.1.1.8 - Ensure subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement.*
E04.D.1.2.1 - Use correct capitalization.
E04.D.1.2.2 - Use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text.
E04.D.1.2.3 - Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.
E04.D.1.2.4 - Spell grade-appropriate words correctly
Florida - Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking:
ELA.4.C.3.1
Follow the rules of standard English grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling appropriate to grade level.
4th Grade Writing - Commas & Quotation Marks Lesson
Punctuation: Commas in Compound Sentences
A comma (,) can be used to separateclauses in a compoundsentence.
Compound sentences have at least two independent clauses. The clauses are joined by coordinating conjunctions. A comma comes after a clause, before the conjunction that begins the next clause.
Example:
There was no ghost in the closet, but there was a monster in there, and his name was Tiny, the Terrible Tomcat.
Go to the next page to learn about using quotationmarks in dialogue.
Punctuation: Quotation Marks in Dialogue
Quotationmarks (" ") go around dialogue in sentences.
Example:
A comma (,) separates the words in quotation marks from the rest of the sentence.
The period at the end of the dialogue is placed inside the ending quotation marks.
Punctuation at the end of dialogue in quotation marks is placed inside the ending quotation marks.
Example:
A comma separates the dialogue from the rest of the sentence. It is placed inside the ending quotation marks.
When dialogue in quotation marks comes at the beginning of a sentence and ends with an exclamation point or a question mark, no comma is used to separate the dialogue from the rest of the sentence. The endpunctuation of the dialogue still goes inside the ending quotation marks.
Example:
"I didn’t take it!" Tara’s sister insisted fervently.
NOTE: When writing the exact words that someone wrote or spoke, quotation marks are used around that person's exact words just as with dialogue in stories.