Common Grammar Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Grammar is the set of rules that makes our language work. When children learn these rules, they can express themselves clearly and understand others better. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore common grammar mistakes made by Australian primary school students (Prep to Year 6) and share tips on how to avoid them. We’ll cover everything from punctuation and sentence structure to confusing words and tenses, all in a clear and supportive way. Mistakes are a normal part of learning – even adults slip up sometimes – so let’s tackle these issues together and have fun along the way!

Introduction

Why Grammar Matters for Aussie Kids

Grammar provides the building blocks for communication. It’s not just about getting good marks on English tests; it’s about helping kids speak, read, and write with confidence. With a solid grasp of grammar, children can form longer, more complex sentences and express complicated ideas. In other words, grammar skills allow kids to “level up” their language. Strong grammar knowledge also supports reading comprehension and storytelling – when kids understand how sentences are built, they can follow along in books more easily and create their own stories that others can enjoy.

Good grammar habits developed in primary school set students up for success in high school and beyond. Many common mistakes (like mixing up their and there or forgetting to add -ed in the past tense) can confuse readers or listeners. By learning to avoid these errors early, children become better writers and communicators. This can even boost their school grades, since clear writing is usually rewarded. More importantly, knowing the basics of grammar gives kids confidence. They can share their thoughts without worrying about being misunderstood. And if English isn’t a child’s first language, understanding grammar is especially helpful for making progress.

Finally, grammar study encourages attention to detail and critical thinking. It teaches kids that the order of words or the choice of punctuation can change meaning – a valuable lesson in precise communication. In short, grammar matters because it helps Aussie kids be clearly understood, do well in school, and tell their own stories with pride. As the Victorian Government’s literacy experts put it, grammar lets children “understand and express themselves in longer and more complex ways”, opening up a whole world of communication.

How This Guide Helps Parents and Tutors

If you’re a parent, teacher, or tutor, you might sometimes feel unsure how to explain grammar rules. Don’t worry – this guide is here to help! We break down each common mistake into simple terms with plenty of examples. You’ll find kid-friendly explanations that you can use when helping with homework or during tutoring sessions. We’ve also included tips, analogies, and little memory tricks (mnemonics) to make the rules easier to remember. This guide isn’t just about correcting errors – it’s about understanding why the mistake happens and how to fix it in a positive way.

Each section is organized by topic (like punctuation, confusing words, etc.), so you can quickly find what you need. Within each, we discuss issues that tend to pop up at different year levels. For instance, missing full stops is common in the early years, while mixing up affect and effect might appear in upper primary. You’ll get suggestions for practice activities – from quick fixes to fun games – that make learning grammar enjoyable for kids. After all, research shows that “boring” grammar drills aren’t effective, but learning through play and discovery works wonders. So we’ve sprinkled in some creative ideas to keep children engaged.

Most importantly, this guide is supportive. Every child learns at their own pace, and mistakes are opportunities to learn. We encourage you to praise effort and improvement. If a child struggles with a concept, use the strategies here to model the correct usage and gently guide them. As the Victorian literacy toolkit notes, parents and educators play a vital role by modeling rich language and expanding on children’s attempts. That means when a child makes a grammar error while speaking or writing, we can respond with the correct form in a natural way, so they gradually absorb the proper usage. This guide gives you the knowledge to do just that, boosting your confidence in coaching grammar.

By understanding common pitfalls and how to address them, you’ll help your young learner build a strong foundation. Remember, the goal isn’t to catch kids out on errors, but to help them communicate more effectively. With clear explanations and supportive practice, you can turn grammar lessons into a positive experience for both you and the child.

Grammar Help by Year Level (Prep–Year 6)

Grammar skills develop steadily from Prep through Year 6, with each year level building on the previous one. Here’s a quick overview of what to expect at different stages, and how you can help:

• Prep (Foundation) & Year 1: In the first years of schooling, children learn what a sentence is and the importance of basic punctuation. The big focus is using a capital letter at the start of a sentence and a full stop at the end. For example, a Prep student might write “i like dogs” and gradually learn to write it as “I like dogs.” They also start to capitalize proper nouns like their own name or “Mum” and “Dad.” By the end of Year 1, students should be using capital letters for familiar proper nouns (like days of the week or their friends’ names) and using full stops to close sentences. You can help by gently reminding them to check: “Does your sentence start with a big letter and end with a stop sign (full stop)?”

• Year 2: Students begin using question marks and exclamation marks in addition to full stops. They learn that a question needs a question mark at the end (e.g. “Where is my hat?”) and an excited or forceful sentence might end with an exclamation mark (“That’s awesome!”). Year 2 is also when kids typically get more consistent with capitalizing the names of people, places, and days. They might still need reminders, but they’re starting to internalize the rule. You can read stories together and point out how sentences end and how names are always capitalized – kids will mirror these patterns in their own writing.

• Year 3–4: In the middle primary years, grammar knowledge expands. Children learn to use commas in lists (e.g. “I need paper, pencils, and scissors.”) and start understanding apostrophes for possession (e.g. “the dog’s tail”). This is also when sentence structure gets more interesting: students begin writing compound sentences joined by conjunctions (“and”, “but”, “so”) and should avoid run-on sentences by using the proper punctuation. In Year 3 or 4, teachers introduce dialogue punctuation – using quotation marks for speech – so kids learn to write conversations with “ ” and a comma or end mark inside. For instance: Sam said, “Let’s play.” Don’t worry, we’ll cover these in detail later. At this stage, you can support your child by reviewing their stories or homework and checking for things like commas in a series or misuse of its/it’s, which often crops up around Year 4 (more on that soon!). It’s helpful to have mini-posters or reference charts for these new punctuation marks as visual reminders (we provide some ideas in the Templates & Worksheets section).

• Year 5–6: Upper primary students are expected to refine and consolidate their grammar skills. They work on consistently applying the basics (no more forgetting full stops!) and tackle some trickier grammar elements. This includes mastering those confusing homophones (like their/there/they’re, your/you’re, affect/effect) and maintaining correct tense throughout a story. By Year 6, students should be comfortable punctuating direct speech with quotes and commas, using apostrophes for both contractions and possession correctly, and varying their sentence structures (knowing when to stop a sentence to avoid run-ons, and how to fix sentence fragments). They also learn about subject-verb agreement in more subtle cases (such as “The team is…” versus “The players are…”). The national curriculum and exams (like NAPLAN’s Language Conventions) check that by end of primary, kids can apply these rules in their writing. For example, one goal is to eliminate errors like inconsistent tense or mismatched subjects and verbs. At home, you can help by encouraging your Year 5–6 child to proofread their work with a simple checklist (capital letters? punctuation? does the verb match the subject? etc.). Later in this guide, we even suggest a Grammar Mistake Tracker chart to log and learn from errors – a strategy that really helps older primary students focus on their most common issues and improve.

Reminder: Every child progresses differently. The year-by-year guide above is a general path, but it’s normal if a Year 4 student still mixes up your/you’re, or a Year 2 child isn’t totally consistent with punctuation yet. Use these expectations as gentle goals, not strict rules. The idea is to build grammar skills step by step. If something is challenging at one level, it will likely click with practice and maturity. And of course, RHZ Tutoring is here to help at every stage – we offer grammar support for Prep to Year 6, both in-person and via online tutoring for students. With personalized guidance, kids can master the right skills at the right time. Whether your child is just starting to put sentences together or preparing for Year 6 graduation, our RHZ Tutoring team can reinforce these grammar foundations in a fun, supportive environment.

Now, let’s dive into the specific grammar trouble spots and how to solve them!

Punctuation Pitfalls

Punctuation marks are like road signs in writing – they guide the reader through the sentence. When children are learning to write, missing or misusing punctuation is extremely common. In this section, we’ll look at some typical punctuation pitfalls: missing full stops and capitals, overusing exclamation marks, misplacing commas, mixing up its vs it’s, and handling quotation marks in dialogue. Correcting these issues early helps kids write sentences that are clear and easy to read. Let’s explore each problem and how to fix it.

Missing Full Stops and Capital Letters (Early Years)

One of the first lessons in writing is that a sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop (or question mark/exclamation mark, as appropriate). In the early years, however, many children forget these basics. It’s not unusual to see a young writer produce a whole string of words with no capital at the start and no full stop to be found. For example: “once upon a time there was a cat it loved to play with yarn it slept in the sun”. Whew! 😅 Without proper sentence breaks, that line just runs on and on.

Why it happens: Early writers are often focused on getting their ideas out and might not understand that punctuation is needed to split ideas into sentences. They may also still be learning the difference between uppercase and lowercase letters. In the excitement of writing a story, a Prep or Year 1 student might use all lowercase and just keep adding “and” to continue the thought. Remember, young children are still mastering fine motor skills and spelling, so punctuation can feel like an extra task.

Why it matters: Missing capital letters and full stops can make writing hard to read and meaning unclear. Even in Year 6, exam markers note that forgetting capitals and punctuation is a common mistake when kids are stressed. It’s such a fundamental rule that not using it will almost always be marked wrong. Beyond marks, though, we want children’s writing to communicate clearly. Each sentence should contain one complete idea; without a clear start or stop, readers get lost. Encouraging good habits from the start helps them long-term.

How to fix it: Emphasize the “sentence boundary” concept early on. One way is to have the child say their sentence out loud – where do they naturally pause? That’s likely where a full stop is needed. Teach them that a full stop is like a red light: it means “stop – idea finished.” After a full stop, the next word must start with a capital letter (because it’s a new sentence). You can even practice by reading a simple paragraph together and pointing out the first word of each sentence (notice the capital) and the dot at the end. Some parents use a green dot sticker at the start of a sentence and a red dot at the end, to visually reinforce “green means go (start), red means stop (end).”

For a fun activity, try Sentence Detective: Write a short story but remove the capital letters and full stops. Have your child fix it. For example, give them: “the dog ran after the ball it was fast” and ask them to put in the capital and the full stop. They should change it to “The dog ran after the ball. It was fast.” When they succeed, celebrate it! Explain that now we have two clear sentences. Frequent practice like this helps them remember. Kids also love the dramatic difference in meaning with or without punctuation – you might show a silly example like “let’s eat grandma” vs *“Let’s eat, Grandma.” to show why punctuation saves lives (don’t worry, they’ll giggle and get the point about the comma!).

Above all, be patient and consistent. Gently correct missing full stops and capitals in their homework or diary writing. Instead of just adding the marks for them, try saying: “I notice two sentences here. Can you find where the first idea ends and put a full stop? And what does the next sentence need to start with?” This prompts them to think it through. Over time, using capital letters and full stops will become second nature. By encouraging these habits in Prep and Year 1, you’re helping your young writer build a solid foundation for all future writing. Keep at it – soon they’ll be ending every sentence with pride.

Overusing Exclamation Marks!!!

Children love exclamation marks – and who can blame them? Exclamation marks (!) look exciting and they’re fun to use. Often, once kids learn about this punctuation mark (usually around Year 1 or 2), they want to sprinkle it everywhere. 😃 It’s not uncommon to see a story where every sentence ends in “!” or even multiple exclamation points in a row (e.g. “This is the best day ever!!!”). While it’s great that they’re enthusiastic, overusing exclamation marks is a pitfall we should help them avoid.

Why it happens: Kids associate the exclamation mark with strong feeling – excitement, surprise, anger – and they have big feelings! When writing, they might think adding “!!!” shows really huge excitement. Sometimes they’re not sure when to use a full stop versus an exclamation, so they default to exclamation because it seems more fun. Additionally, in informal contexts (like texting or comic books), they might see a lot of exclamation marks, so they imitate that in all writing.

Why it matters: Exclamation marks are most effective when used sparingly. If every sentence shouts, the writing actually becomes less impactful. Think about reading a story where every line ends with “!” – it feels like the writer is yelling nonstop, and the excitement no longer feels genuine. In fact, using too many exclamation marks “dulls their impact”. We want children to understand that a well-placed exclamation can add punch to their sentence, but if they overdo it, it loses power. Also, in formal writing or later academic work, exclamation points are rarely used, so it’s good to learn how to reserve them for appropriate moments. Using three or four of them in a row (e.g. “!!!”) is generally not acceptable in formal writing; one will do the job.

How to fix it: Teach the purpose of an exclamation mark. Explain that it’s like a shouting voice or an enthusiastic voice indicator. You can demonstrate by writing the same sentence ending in different punctuation and reading them aloud: “I got a new puppy.” (normal statement voice), “I got a new puppy!” (excited voice), “I got a new puppy?” (questioning voice). This shows that the “!” really does change the tone.

Next, set some guidelines: perhaps, “Let’s try to use at most one exclamation mark per paragraph or page.” This isn’t a hard rule, but a training strategy. Encourage your child to choose the most exciting sentence or the place where an exclamation is truly needed. For instance, if they write a story and every sentence ends with “!”, have them re-read it and pick one or two places that are the most “exclaim-worthy.” Maybe the moment something surprising happens deserves an exclamation, but the rest can be full stops. Remind them that less is more: using one “!” in the right spot makes it more special.

Another strategy is to show how mixing punctuation creates rhythm. Write a short paragraph together and consciously include one exclamation, a couple of full stops, and maybe a question mark. E.g.: “I scored a goal! It was my first goal ever. Can you believe it? Mum was so proud.” Reading this aloud, you can discuss how the exclamation in “I scored a goal!” highlights that excitement, while the next sentence calms down into description. This variety makes the writing more interesting to read than “I scored a goal! It was my first goal ever! My mum was so proud!” which sounds like shouting everything.

You might also introduce the idea that exclamation marks can indicate not just excitement, but other strong emotions like anger or urgency. Practice with your child writing different contexts: “Get out of there!” (urgency), “That’s not fair!” (anger/frustration), “Hooray, we won!” (joy). This helps them grasp that the “!” is a tool for emotion, not a default sentence-ender.

Finally, if your child tends to use “!!” or “!!!”, explain that in proper writing one exclamation mark is enough. Multiple exclamation points in a row aren’t necessary – one is powerful on its own. You can make a game of editing a draft: have them go through and cross out any extra “!” if there are multiples, saying “Only one needed – the rest are just echoes.” They’ll gradually internalize that habit.

It’s all about moderation. We don’t want to stifle their enthusiasm – just channel it. By helping young writers be selective with exclamation marks, we teach them an important lesson about tone and emphasis. When they do use one, it will actually mean something to the reader. And don’t forget to congratulate them with your own excited praise (you can say “Fantastic job!” even if you don’t put three exclamation marks on their paper). 🎉

Where Does the Comma Go?

Commas can be confusing for writers of all ages, but primary students often struggle with where and when to use a comma. Sometimes kids put commas in odd places (perhaps thinking a comma should go wherever they pause when speaking), and other times they omit commas entirely where one is needed. Two common issues are: using commas incorrectly to join sentences (creating a comma splice or run-on), and not using commas in lists or complex sentences where they would help clarity. Let’s unpack comma usage in kid-friendly terms.

Why it happens: Commas have multiple uses – they can separate items in a list, link clauses with a conjunction, or indicate a slight pause in a sentence. That’s a lot for a child to grasp. Early on, children are told by some well-meaning teachers or books that “a comma is a pause” or “put a comma where you take a breath.” This rule of thumb can lead to misplaced commas because our natural breathing doesn’t always align with grammar. In fact, relying on speech patterns to decide comma placement doesn’t always work. For example, a child might write “I went to the park, and played” because they pause there when thinking, but grammatically that comma is unnecessary (or actually incorrect if there’s no subject after and). Conversely, in the rush of writing, kids might write a very long sentence without realizing a comma (or period) was needed to break it up. Comma misuse or omission is simply a reflection that punctuation rules are still being learned.

Why it matters: A misplaced comma can change the meaning or make a sentence grammatically wrong. For instance, “Let’s eat, Grandpa” vs “Let’s eat Grandpa” (the famous example) shows how a missing comma is a problem – though in everyday writing, the stakes aren’t usually that high! More commonly, the danger is run-on sentences or confusion. If a child writes, “I did my homework, I watched TV” with just a comma in between, that’s a comma splice (two independent sentences incorrectly joined by a comma). It makes the sentence technically incorrect. On the other hand, not using a comma in a list can make the list items blur together. “I love cooking dogs and my family” is an amusing example often cited – it should be “cooking, dogs, and my family” to clearly list three separate loves. Without commas, readers might misgroup words. As sentences get longer in upper primary, commas become important for separating ideas and clauses so that writing isn’t an endless string of words. Teaching proper comma use will help your child’s writing become clearer and prevent the dreaded run-on sentences.

How to fix it: Start with the basic rules of commas that are relevant to primary students:

• Commas in a list: Whenever you list three or more things in one sentence, use commas to separate them. For example: “I have a pencil, eraser, and ruler.” The commas tell the reader each item distinctly. Practice this by asking your child to write what’s in their school bag or their favorite foods using commas. If they forget a comma, gently point out where one item ends and another begins. Note: there’s some stylistic choice about the comma before “and” (the Oxford comma), but in primary school it’s usually taught to include it for clarity, as we did in the example above. You can stick with that to avoid confusion.

• Commas in compound sentences: Explain that when we use conjunctions like and, but, so, or to join two complete sentences, we often need a comma before the conjunction. E.g. “I wanted to play outside, but it was raining.” The comma goes right before “but”. Similarly: “She studied hard, so she passed the test.” A simple way to test this: if each half can stand alone as a sentence (She studied hard. / She passed the test.), then using a comma + conjunction is correct. If the halves cannot stand alone, no comma is needed. This is a somewhat advanced concept for a younger child, but by Year 4–5 they can grasp it. To make it visual, you can write two short sentences on cards, e.g. “We went to the beach” and “We had a picnic.” Show how they’re two separate thoughts. Then introduce a linking word: “and”. If we want to make it one sentence, we write “We went to the beach, and we had a picnic.” – point out the comma that comes before “and”. Without the comma, it’s not wrong in a short sentence, but as sentences get longer, the comma helps avoid a run-on. Caution them not to join sentences with just a comma and no conjunction – that’s a no-no (comma splice). Encourage them to either add a conjunction or use a full stop.

• Commas after introductory words or phrases: This is a skill usually developed by Year 5–6. If a sentence starts with a word like After, When, Although, or phrases like In the morning, we use a comma right after that introductory bit. E.g. “After the game, we went out for ice cream.” The comma tells the reader the introduction is done, now here’s the main clause. Primary students don’t need to memorize the term “introductory clause,” but you can model it: “When I got home, I started my homework.” Without the comma (“When I got home I started my homework”), it’s not terrible, but the comma adds clarity and is grammatically expected by the end of primary. Try identifying such patterns in reading books: “On Saturday, the family went camping.” – show them the comma.

• The pause myth: Clarify the breathing rule. Explain that while commas often line up with natural pauses, not every pause needs a comma and not every comma means you’d pause a lot when speaking. Instead, encourage them to think of commas as separators of ideas. Each comma has a specific job (like separating list items or joining two sentences). We don’t put a comma just anywhere we feel a pause. Literacy experts advise teaching the distinct uses of commas rather than relying on speech rhythm. To reinforce this, you could take a comma-rich sentence and read it two ways: pausing at commas vs reading straight through, to show that the meaning is what dictates comma use, not just a breath.

A fun game to practice commas is “Un-jumble the Sentence.” Write a long jumbled sentence with no commas and see if your child can insert commas to clarify it. For example, give them: “My friend who is a fast runner won the race and got a trophy too” – which is confusing because maybe it sounds like only the friend got a trophy, or who is fast? Add commas: “My friend, who is a fast runner, won the race, and got a trophy, too.” Now it’s clear (the friend is a fast runner, they won and got a trophy). That might be a bit complex; you can simplify depending on their level. Even something like “I have a dog a cat and a bird” – let them correct to “I have a dog, a cat, and a bird.” Each corrected comma is a mini victory.

For a physical activity, try “Comma Conductor.” Write a sentence on a board and have your child be the comma: when they think a comma is needed, they raise a little sign or clap. For instance, you slowly read “I went to the store and I bought apples oranges and bananas.” Your child claps at the natural list break (apples clap oranges clap and bananas) and at the compound sentence break if they sense it (“store clap and I bought…”). Then you together put commas where they clapped and check the result. This makes comma placement interactive.

Lastly, encourage proofreading specifically for commas. After writing, have your child read their work out loud to you. If you hear a spot where a comma is missing or misused, ask a gentle question: “Did you mean for that to be one long sentence? Could it be two? Or maybe add a comma there?” Encourage them to find the solution. Conversely, if you see a random comma, ask: “Why did you put a comma here? What’s it separating?” If they’re not sure, it likely doesn’t belong. Over time they’ll use commas more confidently for the right reasons, not just whenever they “feel like it.”

In summary, teach commas with concrete rules and lots of examples. Show what each comma is doing in the sentence. With practice, your child will start to instinctively know where commas go – and their writing will be much easier to follow as a result.

Apostrophes: Its vs It’s (with visual tips)

Apostrophes can be a thorny area for kids (and adults!). One of the most common mistakes is mixing up its and it’s. These two look almost identical but have completely different meanings, and the only clue is the little apostrophe. Many students (understandably) get confused about when to include the apostrophe in it’s and when to leave it out. Let’s clear this up with a simple explanation and some visual tricks.

The rule:

• It’s (with an apostrophe) is a contraction meaning “it is” (or occasionally “it has”). The apostrophe is there to replace the missing letter(s). For example, “It’s raining” is short for “It is raining.”

• Its (without an apostrophe) is a possessive pronoun meaning “belonging to it.” For example, “The koala climbed its tree.” Here its shows possession (the tree belongs to the koala, or rather the tree is associated with the koala).

Apostrophes normally show possession (like “the dog’s tail”) or make contractions (“don’t” for “do not”). This is why its/it’s trips people up – it seems to break the usual rule. Normally we add ’s to show possession (the dog’s tail, Sarah’s book). So kids think it’s should mean something belongs to “it”. But it doesn’t! The word it has an irregular possessive form: its (no apostrophe) is like his or her. We don’t write “hi’s ball” for something belonging to him, or “her’s shoes” – we say his and hers without any apostrophe. Similarly, its is the correct possessive form, no apostrophe needed. Meanwhile, it’s with an apostrophe is strictly short for “it is” or “it has.”

Why kids mix them up: Children learn that apostrophe + s often shows ownership (e.g. “the cat’s whiskers”). So, when they want to talk about something belonging to an object/animal (it), they naturally write “it’s”. They are essentially personifying “it” – treating it like a name that needs ’s for possession. This is an honest mistake because it follows the normal rule, just not the its/it’s exception. Also, in speech there’s no difference in sound between its and it’s, so children rely on memory and context to choose the right one, which can be tricky. Even adults sometimes get this wrong, so it’s worth spending time on.

Why it matters: Using its vs it’s incorrectly can make writing look careless or confuse the reader about meaning. “It’s tail was fluffy” actually reads as “It is tail was fluffy,” which doesn’t make sense. Conversely, “its raining” without the apostrophe looks like “belonging to it raining,” which is also nonsense. Readers momentarily stumble and have to reinterpret. In upper primary and beyond, teachers will mark this wrong; it’s considered a basic punctuation/usage error that should eventually be mastered. Also, as a life skill, knowing the difference helps in everyday writing (this is one error that really stands out in things like emails or signs – e.g., “Its on sale” versus “It’s on sale”). We want our kids to look knowledgeable and avoid that embarrassment. As one educator humorously put it, mixing these up can make us seem “ignorant” – but once you know the rule, it’s easy to get right.

How to fix it: Here are a few tips and visual tricks to help remember the difference between its and it’s:

• The Expansion Test: Whenever your child writes “it’s”, have them say “it is” in the sentence and see if it fits. If “it is” sounds correct, then it’s (with apostrophe) is right. If “it is” sounds wrong or silly, then they meant its (no apostrophe). For example:

  • “Every dog has it’s day.” Try replacing with “it is”: “Every dog has it is day.” That makes no sense! So it should be “Every dog has its day.”.

  • “Look at the kangaroo. It’s jumping high!” Replace: “It is jumping high!” – that works, so it’s is correct here.
    Encourage your child to do this mental check whenever they’re unsure. It’s a quick fix!

• The His/Her Trick: Compare its to his or her. Ask your child: would you put an apostrophe if you used his/her? Probably not. For example, they write “the bird is in it’s cage.” Test with his/her: “the bird is in her cage.” That sounds fine and we didn’t need an apostrophe for her. So use its (no apostrophe). This analogy reinforces that its behaves like other possessive pronouns (his, hers, ours, yours) which never have apostrophes. We can even make a mini chart for visual learners: write his, hers, ours, yours, its on a card and underline that none of them have apostrophes. Keep it as a reference card while writing.

• Visually identify the apostrophe as a replacement: Explain that in it’s, the apostrophe replaces the missing “i” from “it is.” You can demonstrate this by writing “it’s” and “it is” stacked and highlighting the letters:

  • it’s

  • it is
    Here, cross out “i” in “is” and draw an apostrophe up in “it’s” position. This shows the apostrophe’s job – it took the place of that letter.. Maybe even use a small cut-out of the letter “i” and physically remove it to place an apostrophe mark. This concrete visual can stick in their mind: Apostrophe = one or more letters got removed. So if they think they mean “it is” and want to shorten it, they know an apostrophe is needed.

• Look at the following word: Another clue – often, its (no apostrophe) is followed by a noun. For example, “The koala munched on eucalyptus leaves with its baby.” If you see a noun like baby (or tail, door, handle, etc.) right after, you likely need its (possessive). Whereas it’s (it is) might be followed by an adjective or verb phrase: “It’s cold outside” or “It’s going to rain.” This isn’t a foolproof rule but can be a helpful pattern: its often answers “its what?” (its tail, its cover, its name…). If your child writes “It’s color is bright”, they can check the next word “color” – that’s a noun, so probably they mean possession (its color). Thus it should be “Its color is bright.”

• Create a mini-poster or flashcard specifically for its vs it’s. On one side, write “it’s = it is” in bold, maybe with a picture of an apostrophe as a little reminder of a missing piece. On the other side, write “its = belongs to it (possessive)”. Perhaps draw a simple cartoon: e.g., a cat with an arrow pointing to its tail. Visualizing its tail with no apostrophe can reinforce that idea. Some children label the apostrophe as a “floating comma” – you could say it’s has that floating comma because something’s missing, while its is whole, nothing removed.

• The Apostrophe Song or Rhyme: There are catchy songs and rhymes about grammar. LiteracyPlanet recommends The Apostrophe Song for a fun reinforcement. If you can find a kid-friendly tune on YouTube or make up a rhyme (“IT IS gets the ’tis, but if it owns, just leave it alone!” or something silly), it might stick. For example: “If you mean it is, then it’s is right, if you mean belongs to it, leave the apostrophe out of sight!” A cheesy rhyme, but kids might recall it when writing.

When teaching this, emphasize that it’s a common mistake and easy to fix with the check method. You can even share that examiners and teachers keep an eye out for its/it’s errors because they are so prevalent – so mastering this is like a secret weapon for good writing. If your child corrects an its/it’s mistake, praise them specifically: “Great job! You caught that it’s should be its because you meant possession.” That positive feedback will reinforce the rule.

Finally, practice, practice, practice. Include sentences in their spelling or grammar practice that use its and it’s, and have them choose the right one. Over time, they will become pros at this, and it will feel instinctive. The confusion will disappear, and they’ll be confidently writing things like “It’s sunny today, and the dog is wagging its tail,” perfectly punctuated. 🎉

Quotation Marks in Dialogue

When young writers begin to include dialogue (character speech) in stories, they encounter a new punctuation challenge: quotation marks (also called inverted commas). Using quotation marks correctly can be tricky – children might forget to put them, put them in the wrong place, or be unsure how to combine them with other punctuation like commas, periods, or question marks. It’s a lot to juggle! In this section, we’ll demystify how to punctuate dialogue and share tips to avoid common mistakes.

Why it’s tricky: Dialogue punctuation has multiple parts:

• Quotation marks (“ ”) go around the exact words someone says.

• A comma (or other punctuation) often separates the dialogue from the dialogue tag (the he said/she said part).

• The first word inside the quote should start with a capital letter if it begins a sentence of dialogue.

• If a new speaker starts talking, you should start a new line (new paragraph).

That’s a lot of rules rolled into one concept, and it’s usually introduced around Year 3 or 4. At first, children may write dialogue without any quotes at all, e.g. Maria said I am hungry. You have to infer what was spoken versus narration. Or they might put one quote mark and forget the closing one, or vice versa. They might also put quotes but misplace the comma or period outside the quotes. Since we don’t use quotation marks in everyday handwriting until we actually write stories with dialogue, it takes practice to remember to include them. Additionally, many kids primarily meet dialogue in books as readers, not as writers; when reading, they might not consciously notice the punctuation style, focusing instead on content. So when they attempt it themselves, they approximate what they think is right.

Common mistakes:

• Missing quotation marks: The child writes dialogue but doesn’t use “ ” at all, or only at the beginning or end.

• Punctuation outside the quotes: e.g. “I’m here”, said John. (The comma should be inside the quotes, not outside).

• Forgetting new speaker, new line: they might write all dialogue in one paragraph even when different characters speak.

• Random capitalization issues: e.g. “do you know where my hat is?” she asked. (The first word do should be capitalized inside the quote).

• Using double quotes versus single quotes: In Australia, it’s standard to use double quotes for speech in children’s books, but sometimes worksheets might show single quotes. This can cause confusion; generally, either is acceptable if consistent, but double is common in primary materials. We’ll stick with double quotes in our examples.

Why it matters: Proper dialogue punctuation is crucial for clarity in storytelling. If readers can’t tell who is speaking or where speech begins and ends, they get confused. Imagine reading: Tom looked at me and said Do you want to play I nodded. – Without quotes, you’re not sure what were Tom’s spoken words versus the narrative. Compare: Tom looked at me and said, “Do you want to play?” I nodded. Now it’s clear. Incorrect punctuation in dialogue (like missing commas or quotes) can also be marked down in writing assignments. By Year 6, students in exams will often be asked to punctuate given direct speech correctly, and many lose marks by placing commas incorrectly or omitting quotation marks. An ex-SATs examiner in the UK noted that using inverted commas for direct speech is a common area of confusion under pressure. So learning it well ahead of time means less to worry about later. And frankly, nothing brings a story to life like dialogue – we want kids to use it and use it well!

How to fix it: Introduce dialogue punctuation step by step:

1. The Basics of Quotes: Explain that quotation marks go around the words that are coming out of a character’s mouth. You can role-play: have your child say a sentence out loud as if they’re a character. Write down exactly what they said on a paper. Then draw quotation marks at the beginning and end of that sentence, like putting their speech in a bubble. For example: Child says: I want ice cream. You write: “I want ice cream.” and explain those marks tell a reader: these are the exact words spoken. Anything outside the quotes is the narrator telling the story. A helpful analogy: quotes are like open-and-close speech bubbles in comics, but in text form.

2. Commas and end punctuation: Usually, a dialogue sentence is written with a comma before the closing quote if there’s a dialogue tag after it. For instance: “I want ice cream,” said Tom. The comma stays inside the quotation marks, right after ice cream. Why a comma and not a period? Because the sentence isn’t fully done until we finish said Tom. The words said Tom are part of the same sentence, so we use a comma to connect the spoken part with the narration. If the dialogue ends with a question or exclamation, use ? or ! inside the quotes instead, and then continue with said Tom (or whatever) without a capital letter. E.g. “Really?” she asked. The question mark replaces the comma in that case, and we still don’t capitalize she because it’s a continuation of the sentence. However, if the dialogue stands alone with no tag, you can just end with a period inside the quotes: “It’s time to go.” (This is a complete sentence by itself.)

   This is nuanced, so practice with examples:

   • “I’m hungry,” said Sarah. (comma inside quotes, then lowercase said)

   • “I’m hungry.” Sarah rubbed her tummy. (period inside quotes, new sentence narration after)

   • “Are you coming?” he shouted. (question mark inside, then lowercase he)

   • “Watch out!” yelled Alex. (exclamation inside, then lowercase yelled)

   A visual tip: you might draw or print out a sentence and physically cut it where the speech ends and the tag begins. For the sentence “I’m hungry,” said Sarah. cut between hungry, and said. Point out the part in quotes could be on its own, but because we attached said Sarah, we use that comma. This tangible demonstration can help them see the two parts. Also emphasize: punctuation (comma, question mark, etc.) nearly always stays inside the quotation marks for direct speech. That’s a rule to memorize: the quote holds the punctuation at the end of the spoken part.

3. Capitalization in dialogue: The first word inside the quotation marks should start with a capital letter if it begins a new sentence of dialogue. For example: She whispered, “Do you hear that?” – the Do is capitalized because it’s the start of what she whispered. However, if the quote is continuing a sentence (after a tag), you might not capitalize. E.g., “We should,” he mumbled, “go home.” Here, “go” isn’t capitalized because it’s a continuation of the same quoted sentence (split by he mumbled). Splitting quotes like that is advanced; initially, focus on one complete quote at a time. Just ensure they know to capitalize the start of the quote if it’s the beginning of someone’s sentence.

4. New speaker, new line: This is a formatting rule that really helps readability. Teach your child that whenever a different character begins speaking, you start a new paragraph (hit Enter, new line). So if Anna speaks, then Ben replies, those should be in separate paragraphs, each with their own quotes around them. Example:

   “Where are you going?” asked Anna.
   “To the store,” Ben replied. “I’ll be back soon.”
   

   Notice Anna’s line is separate from Ben’s. This avoids confusion about who’s talking when reading. You can practice this by writing a short dialogue exchange together, making sure to start a new line each time you switch who’s speaking. If your child forgets this and writes it all in one block, you can mark where to break it. Once they see how much clearer it is, they’ll understand the why.

5. Play script to story: One way to ease into quoted dialogue is to start with a little play format (like lines in a script) and then convert it. For example:

   • Anna: Where are you going?

   • Ben: To the store. I’ll be back soon.

   Then show how to turn that into a story format:

   • “Where are you going?” asked Anna.

   • “To the store,” Ben replied. “I’ll be back soon.”

   They can see how each character’s speech got quotation marks and appropriate punctuation.

6. Punctuation placement practice: Give them some unpunctuated dialogue and ask them to fix it. For example:
   jim said I dont want to go
   Properly: “I don’t want to go,” Jim said.
   Or: “Where is my toy” asked Sam
   Properly: “Where is my toy?” asked Sam.
   Check: Did they put quotes at both the start and end of the spoken words? Did they capitalize the first word inside quotes? Is the question mark in the right place? Is there a comma before the tag (or question mark, etc.) and is the tag’s first word not capitalized (unless a name)? This practice is like a puzzle – some kids enjoy hunting for the fixes.

7. Using dialogue tags creatively: Teach alternatives to “said” (asked, shouted, whispered, etc.) but remind that said is perfectly fine most of the time and almost “invisible” to the reader. The key is punctuation stays the same regardless of the verb used.

8. Dialogue in paragraphs: As they get more advanced, discuss that sometimes a line of dialogue might end in a comma because more sentence follows after the tag. For example, “No,” said Lily, shaking her head, “I’ve changed my mind.” This is an advanced construction showing a split quote. If your Year 6 child attempts it, ensure they know to put commas appropriately and not capitalize the second part (“I’ve” is capitalized here though because it's a new sentence actually after the split – okay that one might be complex; skip split quotes until basics are solid).

It’s a lot to remember, so encourage them to use a checklist when revising their story: Have I opened and closed quotes around speech? Did I put punctuation inside the quotes? Did I start a new line for a new speaker? For a while, you might underline missing commas or misplaced quotes in their drafts and let them correct it. Repetition will make it feel natural. You can even have them read their written dialogue aloud with dramatic voices – it helps reinforce where the quotes should be.

One more reassuring point: everyone finds this confusing at first. It is not uncommon for children (and even adults writing quickly) to find using inverted commas and other punctuation a bit confusing. With regular practice, though, your child will get it. They’ll soon be punctuating conversations in their stories like a young novelist. Encourage them to read books with lots of dialogue; seeing it correctly used in context is a great passive learning tool.

And remember, when marking or reviewing their work, praise correct dialogue punctuation when you see it (“I love how you put quotes around what Mom said in your story – it made it easy to follow!”). This will reinforce that they’ve done it right and motivate them to keep it up. Dialogue can really bring writing to life, so mastering quotation marks is a fantastic step in their writing journey.

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Now that we’ve tackled punctuation pitfalls, let’s move on to the structure of sentences – another area where small fixes can make a big difference.

Sentence Structure Struggles

Sentence structure is all about how words are arranged to form a complete thought. In primary school, children are learning what makes a sentence complete and how to connect ideas smoothly. Two big stumbling blocks are run-on sentences (when sentences go on too long or are improperly joined) and fragments (when something’s missing, so it’s not a full sentence). Another common issue is mixed-up word order, which can make sentences sound strange or confusing. In this section, we’ll explain these problems and give strategies to fix them. Improving sentence structure helps kids communicate their ideas clearly and makes their writing more enjoyable to read.

Run-On Sentences: When to Stop

Does your child write stories that seem to have only one or two giant sentences? For example: “I woke up late I ran to the bus stop I was scared I would miss the bus and I did luckily Mum drove me to school and then I wasn’t late.” This is an example of a run-on sentence (also known as a fused sentence). A run-on happens when two or more independent thoughts are jammed together without proper punctuation or conjunctions to separate them. Essentially, the writer didn’t know where to stop one sentence and start the next, or how to connect clauses properly.

Why it happens: Young writers often have a stream of thought that they pour onto the page. They might use “and” repeatedly to keep going, or sometimes just continue writing without any connector at all. They may not be confident about using full stops, or they might think a longer sentence sounds more grown-up. Additionally, if they’re unsure about using commas or semicolons, they might avoid them altogether. The result? One very long sentence that actually contains multiple ideas. Kids might also simply not realize that what they’ve written is grammatically more than one sentence – they’re focused on the story, not the technical structure. In speech, we often string ideas together with tone and pauses, but in writing, those need to be marked with punctuation. It’s a learning curve to see that a sentence can’t just go on indefinitely.

Why it matters: Run-on sentences can be tough to read. They may confuse the reader because the ideas run into each other without clear division. In the run-on example above, by the time you get to “luckily Mum drove me to school,” you might have to double back to see how that fits with “I did [miss the bus].” Proper sentence breaks (or conjunctions with commas) would make it much clearer. Also, in writing assessments, run-ons are seen as errors in grammar/punctuation. Teachers will usually mark a run-on with something like “needs a period here” or “run-on sentence” in older grades. Learning to avoid run-ons helps children write in clear, digestible units of thought. Each sentence should convey one main idea (possibly with supporting details). If there are two main ideas improperly fused, the meaning can become muddled. For instance, “I love cooking my family and my dog” is a classic run-on (and also missing commas) that unintentionally suggests something dark! With correct separation – “I love cooking, my family, and my dog” – the meaning is fixed. So, identifying where one idea ends and another begins is critical.

How to fix it: The first step is to teach kids to recognize a complete thought. A complete sentence usually has a subject and a verb and expresses a full idea. You can practice by reading a long run-on aloud together and seeing where natural pauses or shifts in idea occur. Often, a run-on can be fixed by breaking it into two (or more) sentences with full stops, or by adding a conjunction (with a comma if needed) to link clauses properly.

Here are some strategies:

• The Period (Full Stop) Test: Take a suspected run-on and try splitting it into separate sentences. Using the earlier example: “I woke up late. I ran to the bus stop. I was scared I would miss the bus and I did. Luckily Mum drove me to school and then I wasn’t late.” Now evaluate: some of these could stand alone fine, others might still need connecting. Encourage your child to punctuate where they think one thought concludes. They might start with too many periods or not enough, but it’s easier to adjust from there. Then you can discuss whether some sentences should be joined. For instance, “I was scared I would miss the bus and I did.” – that “and I did” is actually a subordinate idea; it might be clearer as “I was scared I would miss the bus, and I did.” or “I was scared I would miss the bus – and I did!” depending on style. The key is, don’t be afraid to end a sentence. Assure your child that short sentences are okay. In fact, a mix of short and longer sentences makes writing lively.

• Using Conjunctions: If two ideas are closely related, teach them to use words like and, but, so, because to join them rather than just smashing them together. But each conjunction has to be used correctly. And shows continuation, but shows contrast, so shows result, because shows reason. Example of fixing a run-on: “I love to write I find it hard.” → It has two ideas: I love to write. I find it hard. They can be joined: “I love to write, but I find it hard.” Now it’s one correct sentence instead of two fused ones, and it makes sense why both ideas are together (it’s implying even though I love it, it’s hard). Explain that a comma should precede the conjunction when joining two full sentences (as covered in comma section) to avoid comma splices, but one thing at a time – first get them to use a conjunction at all instead of nothing.

• Introduce the concept of Run-On in a fun way. You might draw a picture of a sentence as a runner who doesn’t know when to stop running through the finish line. Show punctuation marks as finish lines. When the runner ignores them, chaos ensues! This silly visual can help them remember that at some point, you need to stop and catch your breath (i.e., put a period).

• Read it aloud game: Often when a child reads their own run-on sentence aloud, they naturally pause or their voice drops at the place where a period should be. Try having them read their sentence to you. If you hear a spot where they paused but didn’t put punctuation, point it out: “I noticed you took a little break there – maybe that’s the end of one thought? That could be a period.” Conversely, if they barrel through and it sounds too packed, ask, “Did that feel like a lot in one go? Let’s break it up and see if it sounds better.” Teach them that a sentence expresses one main idea; when you move to the next idea, likely you need a new sentence or at least a connecting word.

• One idea per sentence exercise: Write down several independent clauses (simple sentences) on slips of paper: e.g. I went to the park, I took my dog, It started to rain, We ran back home. Mix them up and ask the child to form a logical story, either as separate sentences or combining some. They might write: “I went to the park with my dog. It started to rain, so we ran back home.” That’s excellent: two sentences properly punctuated, and no run-on. If they had written “I went to the park with my dog it started to rain so we ran back home” all as one, you can then guide them: where could we break this? Perhaps between dog. and It started, or by adding a comma after dog and an and/so. This cut-and-paste method turns grammar into a puzzle-solving game.

• Explain comma splice vs fused sentence for older kids (Year 6). A fused sentence is just two sentences stuck together with no punctuation (a type of run-on), and a comma splice is two sentences joined by a comma without a conjunction. They don’t need to memorize the terms, but spotting them is useful. Show an example of each and the fixes:

  • Fused: “The sun set the kids went home.” (No punctuation between independent clauses.) How to fix: “The sun set. The kids went home.” OR “The sun set, and the kids went home.”

  • Comma splice: “The sun set, the kids went home.” (Comma by itself isn’t enough.) Fix similarly: either make it two sentences or add a conjunction: “The sun set, so the kids went home.”
    This demonstrates correct options. Many teachers drill into kids: don’t join sentences with just a comma – it's an error. So either a full stop, a semicolon (maybe too advanced for primary, but bright Year 6 might learn that), or a comma + suitable conjunction.

• Chunking long sentences: If a sentence seems to be running on, teach them to consider if there are two distinct subjects/clauses that could each be a sentence. For example, in “I did my homework I watched TV,” there are two actions that don’t depend on each other. That’s a clue it should likely be: “I did my homework. I watched TV.” If they want to show sequence or cause, they can use and then or after that. Eg: “I did my homework, and then I watched TV.” That’s also acceptable (with the comma because technically both parts could stand alone as sentences).

Finally, reassure your child that using a full stop is not “wrong” even if the sentences end up short. Some kids think a run-on is okay because their teacher told them to use complex sentences or because they fear their writing will look choppy. Let them know: clarity comes first. They can combine sentences when appropriate, but not everything should be one big sentence. Writing gets easier to read when thoughts are appropriately separated. You can even show them a paragraph all in one sentence vs the same content properly split – ask which is easier to understand. They’ll see the point.

With practice, they will start noticing when they themselves write an overly long sentence. They might say, “This feels like a run-on,” and break it up – that’s the goal! They’ll develop an internal sense of when to put that crucial full stop. And as their editor (you or the teacher) does less of the chopping for them, they gain independence as writers.

Fragments: What’s Missing?

On the flip side of run-ons are sentence fragments. A fragment is an incomplete sentence – something is missing that prevents it from expressing a full thought. For example: “Because I went to the shops.” or “The kid with the blue hat.” As written, these aren’t complete sentences (the first is a dependent clause, the second lacks a verb). In early drafts, students might inadvertently write fragments, especially when they’re continuing a thought from a previous sentence or when they use conversational style. Let’s explore how to recognize and fix fragments by finding what’s missing.

Why fragments happen: Children often think in chunks and sometimes write the way they speak. In casual speech, we use fragments all the time and it sounds fine (e.g., “Who came to the party?” “My friend from school.” – technically a fragment, but understood in context). In writing, though, each sentence is expected to stand on its own as a complete idea. A fragment usually is missing a subject, a verb, or doesn't finish the thought. Here are a few typical scenarios:

• The child writes a subordinate clause as a sentence by itself. E.g. “Because I was tired.” If spoken, one assumes there’s a second part (“…I went to bed early”), but on paper it’s left hanging.

• The child writes a description with no main verb: “The big brown dog on the porch.” (What about the dog on the porch? No verb, so it’s incomplete).

• They might start a sentence and then stop, as an idea change, without realizing they didn’t actually form a complete sentence. For example: “We went to the museum. Saw many dinosaurs.” In the second part, the subject “We” is missing, making it a fragment (Who saw many dinosaurs? It’s implied but not stated).

• Early writers might not know they need every sentence to have an action or a being verb. They might think if it looks like a thought, it counts. Also, when writing lists or notes, fragments occur (like bullet points). In formal writing, though, we aim for full sentences.

Why it matters: A sentence fragment can confuse readers, because something feels unfinished. A full sentence must have both a subject and a predicate (verb part) and express a complete thought. If one of those elements is missing, readers might wait for the rest of the info. For instance, “When the bell rang.” – readers expect a follow-up (What happened when the bell rang?). Without it, the narrative has a gap. In stories or essays, fragments can interrupt the flow or clarity. While occasionally authors use intentional fragments for effect (especially in fiction dialogue or stylistic writing), in primary school it’s important to learn to write in complete sentences so that meaning is clear. Plus, on tests and assignments, fragments are usually marked as mistakes because they indicate a failure to form a complete sentence. Knowing how to fix fragments will improve the quality of a child’s writing significantly.

How to fix it: The key to fixing a fragment is to identify what’s missing. We ask: Does this sentence have a subject (who or what it’s about)? Does it have a verb (what about the subject)? Does it express a full idea or leave you hanging? Let’s go through steps and tips:

• Subject check: Ask “Who or what is this sentence about?” If you can’t find a noun/pronoun doing something, it’s incomplete. Example fragment: “Runs to the playground.” Who runs? We need a subject. Fix: “The boy runs to the playground.” Sometimes the subject is missing because it was in the previous sentence. E.g., “We played football. And had a picnic.” The second part “And had a picnic” has no subject; presumably “we” again. Best fix: combine or add subject – “We played football and had a picnic.” or “We played football. We had a picnic afterward.” Teach your child that each new sentence should stand on its own, so if they start a sentence with “And had a picnic,” that’s not standalone – it leans on the last sentence’s subject. A new sentence should reintroduce who if needed.

• Verb check: Ask “What is the subject doing or being?” If there’s no verb, it’s a fragment. Example: “The kid with the blue hat.” We have a subject (“kid”), but what about the kid? What happened? We need a verb to complete it. Could be “The kid with the blue hat won the race.” or “The kid with the blue hat is my brother.” Add whatever predicate completes the thought. Sometimes children write long noun phrases thinking that’s a sentence. In reading comprehension exercises, they might answer a question like “Who won the race?” with “The kid with the blue hat.” As an answer it communicates, but as a sentence it’s technically incomplete (should be “The kid with the blue hat won.”). Encourage full-sentence answers to reinforce this.

• Complete thought check: Some fragments have a subject and verb but still aren’t complete because they start with a subordinating word (because, when, although, if, etc.) that makes the clause dependent. E.g. “Because I finished my work early.” Here we have subject “I” and verb “finished,” but the “because” makes it an incomplete thought – waiting for the consequence: because I finished my work early, [something happened]. To fix, you either attach it to the main clause or remove the subordinating word. For example: “Because I finished my work early, I got to play outside.” or just drop “Because” and say “I finished my work early.” depending on context. Teach them that words like because, if, when, although at the start usually signal the sentence is half of a thought (a dependent clause). There must be an accompanying main clause either in the same sentence or around it. If they find a sentence starting with those and it’s alone, likely a fragment that needs revision. A fun way is to play a matching game: you give them half-sentences like “When the bell rang –” and “– the students rushed out.” Have them match and combine into one sentence: “When the bell rang, the students rushed out.” They can see the “when” part needed the second part.

• Combining or Separating: To fix a fragment, either attach it to a nearby sentence or expand it into a complete sentence. Let’s practice with a couple:

  • Fragment: “In the afternoon.” (When in the afternoon? What happened?) Perhaps the previous sentence says “We had a picnic.” You can combine: “We had a picnic in the afternoon.” – now it’s part of a full sentence. Or finish it: “In the afternoon, we relaxed under a tree.”

  • Fragment: “Went to the market.” (No subject) – Add subject: “My dad and I went to the market.”

  • Fragment (as part of narrative): “The treasure buried under the old oak tree.” Possibly meant as a dramatic fragment. But to be correct: “The treasure was buried under the old oak tree.” or “They found the treasure buried under the old oak tree.” – either adding a verb or attaching to an existing sentence.

  A good tip: Read the fragment out loud and ask “So what?” or “And then?”. “Because I was sick.” – And then what? If you feel the urge to complete the thought, the fragment needs completion.

• Teaching with examples: Show a series of examples and fixes. You could also use the concept of complete vs incomplete sentences as an activity (worksheets often do this): list some sentences, some fragments, and have the child label them or fix the fragments. For example:

  1. The dog chased the ball. (Complete)

  2. Under the bed. (Incomplete – missing subject/verb, context)

  3. We climbed the tree and waved. (Complete)

  4. If it rains tomorrow. (Incomplete – needs a continuation)

  Discuss each and how to fix the fragments:

  • “Under the bed.” -> “The cat hid under the bed.” (added subject & verb)

  • “If it rains tomorrow.” -> “If it rains tomorrow, the sports day will be canceled.” (added result clause) or remove ‘if’: “It rains tomorrow.” (though that changes meaning).

  Often, just awareness that every sentence needs a someone doing something is enough for younger kids. Older kids can handle the dependent clause nuance.

• Encourage proof-reading for fragments: After writing a draft, students can circle every capital letter that starts a sentence and check that sentence for a verb and a complete idea up to the period. It’s a concrete way to isolate each sentence and examine it. If they find one that doesn’t seem complete, they can fix it by adding what’s missing or merging it with another sentence.

Also, emphasize that in most formal writing assignments, they should avoid starting sentences with conjunctions like “And” or “Because” because it often leads to fragments. In creative writing, it’s not “wrong” to start with these for effect, but until they master full sentences, it’s safer to connect those clauses within one sentence. Once they’re confident, they might stylistically use a fragment here or there for dramatic effect (e.g., “But no one listened.” as a stand-alone for emphasis in a narrative). But they should know it’s a deliberate stylistic choice, not an oversight.

By diligently turning fragments into complete sentences, your child’s writing will gain polish and clarity. Reading their writing aloud can help catch fragments – if they stumble or feel something’s missing when reading, that’s often a clue. Over time, they’ll naturally start writing in complete sentences on the first go. Just like solving run-ons, fixing fragments becomes an automatic habit with practice.

Mixed-Up Word Order

Word order in English is crucial. A sentence can become confusing or take on a different meaning if the words are in the wrong order. Young children or those learning English sometimes mix up the typical order of subject, verb, and object, or they might place adjectives or adverbs in odd positions. For example, a child might write: “Yesterday went I to the zoo.” or “She quickly ran home fast.” These sound a bit off, don’t they? In this section, we’ll look at common word order mix-ups and how to straighten them out.

Why it happens: English generally follows a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order for statements. For questions, we often invert the subject and auxiliary verb (e.g., “Can I go?”). Kids might mix up word order for a few reasons:

• Influence of spoken language or other languages: If a child speaks another language at home or is bilingual, they might directly translate from that language’s word order to English, causing mistakes. For instance, in some languages the order might be Verb-Subject (“Went I to the zoo”) or object first.

• Questions vs statements confusion: Early on, children hear questions like “What are you doing?” They might mimic incorrectly in statements: “I don’t know what are you doing” instead of “what you are doing.” (This is a known tricky area even up to upper primary: indirect questions).

• Emphasis or style: Sometimes kids put words in odd order for emphasis without knowing the proper construction. E.g., “Fun, it was” trying to sound dramatic like Yoda from Star Wars. (Yoda-speak is famously OSV order: “Strong with the Force, he is.” This is not standard English, but children might mimic it playfully or accidentally).

• Long sentences with multiple parts: A child might lose track of the sentence structure mid-way and things end up jumbled. For example: “The treasure I found in the cave was shiny and I didn’t know how could I carry it.” The latter part might better be “how I could carry it.”

• Adjective/adverb placement: They might say “a red big ball” instead of “a big red ball,” or “she ran quickly fast” doubling up adverbs awkwardly, or placing an adverb in the wrong spot, like “She ate quickly her dinner” instead of “She quickly ate her dinner” or “She ate her dinner quickly.”

Why it matters: Word order mistakes can make sentences harder to understand, or unintentionally funny/confusing. For example, “She chased the cat angrily” vs “Angrily, the cat chased she” – the second is clearly wrong and confusing. Proper word order ensures the reader knows who is doing what to whom. It also aligns with what English readers expect; when words are out of usual order, readers have to pause and puzzle it out. By primary school, teachers expect students to generally use correct syntax in their writing. While minor slips happen (especially in complex sentences), consistent mixed-up word order will be marked as errors or make the writing seem immature. It could also impede communication – consider, “The homework forgot I to do.” We can figure it out, but it’s not smoothly intelligible. Teaching correct word order also helps in oral communication and reading comprehension, since understanding sentence structure is a two-way street.

How to fix it: The approach depends on the type of word order issue. Let’s break it into categories with tips:

• Basic Declarative Sentences (Statements): Reinforce the pattern: Subject – Verb – Object/Complement. One exercise: take a jumbled sentence and arrange it correctly. For instance, present “to the zoo / I / yesterday / went” and have them arrange into “I went to the zoo yesterday.” They can practice with strips of paper. If your child tends to write “Yesterday went I to the zoo,” point out that in English, the subject (“I”) normally comes right after the time phrase at the start. Time words like yesterday, today, last week can be at the beginning or end, but they don’t usually sit in the middle of subject and verb. So “Yesterday, I went to the zoo” or “I went to the zoo yesterday” are both fine, but not “Yesterday went I to the zoo.” To fix that example: identify subject (I), verb (went), object (to the zoo), time (yesterday). English order prefers Subject then Verb, so ensure “I went” stays together in that order. A visual reminder: maybe write S-V-O on a poster with an example (“I (S) ate (V) an apple (O).”). If they put “ate I an apple,” they can check – subject should come before the verb in a normal statement. One can also use simple symbols or pictograms for younger kids (like stick figure – action – thing).

• Questions: Many children get mixed up when forming questions, especially indirect ones. For direct questions, the formula is often (Question word) + Verb (auxiliary) + Subject + ...? e.g., “What are you doing?” or inversion like “Do you want a turn?” If a child asks “What you are doing?”, gently correct: “In a question, say ‘What are you doing?’ – the are comes before you.” Practice by turning statements into questions: “You are coming.” -> “Are you coming?” Or with question words: “He is going where.” -> “Where is he going?” This inversion is tricky, but repetition and reading lots of questions in print will help. Indirect questions (like “I wonder where he is going”) are more advanced; kids might write “I wonder where is he going.” Explain that in an indirect question or embedded clause, the word order goes back to statement order (subject before verb). A simple rule: only invert for direct questions, not when it’s part of a bigger sentence. For primary level, focus on forming direct questions correctly first.

• Adjectives order: English has a conventional order for adjectives (opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose). Kids won’t memorize that list, but they usually pick up intuitively that we say “big red ball” not “red big ball.” If a child says “red big ball,” just correct by modeling: “In English we say ‘big red ball.’ Size comes before color.” You can make a fun activity: have a noun and various adjective cards; ask them to place them in a natural order before the noun and see what sounds right. For example: [ball] with adjectives [old, round, green, tiny]. Correct order would be “a tiny old round green ball” (though realistically we’d rarely use so many adjectives at once, it’s just for practice). This might be overkill unless the child is actually misordering adjectives. Many kids won’t use more than one or two adjectives together at this age, so just correct any that sound off (if they say “a plastic small toy” say we’d usually say “a small plastic toy”).

• Adverbs placement: Adverbs (like quickly, slowly, often, yesterday) can move around, but there are some norms. For example, adverbs of manner (how) often go after the verb or object (“She ran quickly,” or “She quickly ran home” – both acceptable, but not “She ran home quickly fast,” which is redundant anyway). If a child writes something like “She quietly sang the song softly,” you’d point out they don’t need both quietly and softly – that’s redundancy rather than order issue. Or if they write “She ate quickly her dinner,” that’s an unusual order. Better: “She quickly ate her dinner” or “She ate her dinner quickly.” Explain that short adverbs or adverb phrases can often go either at start, middle, or end, but not splitting the verb and object unnaturally. A good rule of thumb: don’t insert an adverb between the verb and object unless it’s a specific style choice (e.g., “She gently brushed the dog” – that works, actually). If confusion arises, generally suggest putting the adverb either before the verb or at the end of the sentence. For example, instead of “She ate quickly her dinner,” say either “She quickly ate her dinner” or “She ate her dinner quickly.”

• Maintaining logical sequence: Sometimes word order issues come from writing as they think, not as a structured sentence. If a sentence feels out of logical order, suggest they break it and reorder. For example: “Broken on the floor, I saw the vase.” Grammatically, that says I was broken on the floor! The intended meaning is I saw the vase (that was) broken on the floor. Teach about modifiers: the phrase “Broken on the floor” is describing the vase, so it should be next to “the vase” in the sentence: “I saw the vase broken on the floor.” Better yet, “I saw the vase that was broken on the floor.” This might be advanced for primary, but some older primary kids do dangling modifiers inadvertently. Just remind: describe the right thing. If they write “Flying in the sky, the boy watched the kite,” point out that as written, it sounds like the boy is flying! Instead, “The boy watched the kite flying in the sky.” Keep the descriptive phrase close to what it describes.

• Yoda-speak and creative order: Kids might play with weird order for fun. That’s okay in play or quotes, but in formal writing we use standard order. You can have a laugh by speaking like Yoda (“Ready, are you? Know the order, you do.”) Then translate it to normal English and say this is how we should write in school. They’ll get the point that unusual order stands out.

Practice idea: Write a few sentences with jumbled order and ask your child to fix them.
Example jumbled sentences:

• “To school I walk always.” -> Fix: “I always walk to school.” (Frequency adverb typically goes before main verb, except the verb “to be”: “I am always early.” There are nuances but that might be too detailed.)

• “A puppy cute I have.” -> Fix: “I have a cute puppy.”

• “The alien we saw strange.” -> Fix: “We saw the strange alien.” or “The alien we saw was strange.”

• “Can ride bikes we?” -> Fix: “Can we ride bikes?” (question inversion)
  They might find these easy or silly, but it reinforces normal patterns.

Encourage them to read their sentences aloud slowly; if something sounds off, often their ear will catch it. Reading lots of well-written material (books, articles) also subconsciously instills proper word order. If your child has a first language with different syntax, occasionally highlight differences and practice translating their thoughts into English structure. For example, if in their language one might say “To the store I go,” practice saying it the English way “I go to the store.”

With time, correct word order becomes natural. English word order is fairly fixed for basic sentences, and once they internalize the patterns, they won’t have to consciously think about it for simple sentences. For complex ones, revising and reordering during editing is key. Remind them that even adults rearrange sentences in second drafts – it’s part of writing. They can try multiple orders and choose the clearest one.

By sorting out mixed-up word order, we ensure that the wonderful ideas in a child’s head make perfect sense on paper too. 🎉

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Now that we’ve covered sentence-level issues, let’s move to specific word confusions that often trip students up: homophones and other easily mixed-up words.

Confusing Words

The English language is full of words that sound alike or have similar spellings but very different meanings. It’s no wonder kids (and adults) often mix them up. In primary school, some classic confusing word sets come up again and again: there/their/they’re, to/too/two, your/you’re, then/than, and (for the upper primary students) affect/effect. Using the wrong word can change the meaning of a sentence or just look wrong to a reader. In this section, we’ll tackle each of these word groups one by one. We’ll explain the difference in meaning and give you simple tricks to help your child choose the right word. With practice, these words will go from confusing to confidence-boosting!

There, Their, and They’re

There, their, and they’re are infamous – even many grown-ups slip up on these, but primary students practice them a lot. Since all three are pronounced the same (“thair”), learning to distinguish them in writing is about understanding their roles and meanings.

• There refers to a place or is used as a placeholder in sentences. “There” can mean “in that place” (e.g., “The book is over there on the table.” – notice there is the opposite of here in this context). It’s also used in phrases like “There is/There are” to start sentences (e.g., “There are seven days in a week.” or “There’s a fly in my soup.”). In those cases, “there” doesn’t mean a location, it’s part of a sentence construction to say something exists or happens.

• Their is a possessive adjective. It means “belonging to them.” Use their before a noun to indicate ownership by a group of people (or sometimes animals/things). For example, “The children have finished their homework.” Whose homework? The children’s. Their shows possession. Another: “The dogs buried their bones.” If you can rephrase with “my/your/our” and it makes sense (but with “they”), then their is likely correct. For instance, you’d say “we finished our homework,” so if talking about others, “they finished their homework.”

• They’re is a contraction of “they are.” The apostrophe replaces the letter a. For example, “They’re going to the park” is short for “They are going to the park.” Similarly, “I think they’re hungry” means “they are hungry.” This form is only correct when you can expand it to “they are.”

Common mix-ups: Kids might write “Their is a party today” when it should be “There is a party today” (because it’s not possessive, it’s the existential “there is”). Or they might write “Look over there books” instead of “their books” when indicating possession. Or “there going to school” instead of “they’re going to school.” These mistakes happen because the words sound identical, so in fast writing the wrong homophone can slip in. Also, kids are trying to remember spelling – their has that odd i before r, there has here in it, they’re has an apostrophe. It’s a lot to juggle.

Tricks to remember:

• “There” has “here” in it: This can remind kids it often relates to location. If you can replace it with “here” or “there” (pointing out a place), then there is correct. Example: “Put the box over there.” If unsure, think: can I say “here” instead? “Put the box over here” – yes, similar idea, so there is right. For the “There is/are” construction, note that “there” is part of a formula and has no possessive meaning – so it’s never their is or they’re is. “Their” has “heir” in it: An heir is someone who inherits, which is about possession. A stretch of a mnemonic: their means they own something (possessive). Or note that their ends in -ir like our ends in -ur; both are possessives (this is a loose visual clue).

• “Their = belongs to them” – have students ask whose? If the answer is their, it should be the possessive. For instance, “The team won ___ game.” Whose game? Their game. So use their.

• “They’re = they are” – always test by expanding. This is the golden rule: If you can replace “they’re” with “they are” and the sentence still makes sense, then it was correct. If you have a sentence and wonder if they’re fits, try saying “they are” in its place. E.g., “They’re late for school.” Try “They are late for school.” – yes, that works, so They’re is correct. If a child writes “The dogs wagged they’re tails,” test it: “The dogs wagged they are tails.” That makes no sense – it should be their tails (possessive).

• Ask the questions: there – is it talking about a place or used with is/are? their – is something belonging to “them”? they’re – can you say “they are”? By going through these questions, kids can self-correct. For example, in “I like their new house”, ask: belonging to them? Yes, house belongs to them. So their. In “Their are many stars tonight”, ask: is that possession? No. Place? No, it's the existential “there are”. So it should be There are many stars tonight.

• Practice with sentences: You can make a fill-in-the-blank quiz or game. For instance:

  1. ___ are cookies on the plate. (Answer: There, because it's like “There are cookies…” – existence)

  2. ___ leaving now for ___ soccer practice over ___. (Trickier: They’re leaving now for their soccer practice over there. Uses all three.)

  3. The students put ___ books on the desk. (Their – because whose books? theirs)

  4. “Are they at home?” “Yes, ___ in ___ house.” (Yes, they’re in their house.)

  Another fun approach: write a silly short story or a few sentences intentionally filled with the wrong theirs/theres/they’res and have your child “edit” it. Kids often enjoy correcting an adult’s “mistakes.” For example: “Their once was a family who sold there house because they’re dog kept digging holes in the yard. Now there living in there grandparents’ basement, and they’re hoping to buy a new home soon over their.” Have them find and fix all instances.

• Story or Memory trick: Some remember “their” has “the + ir (as in possessive -ir kind of like her) and they’re has an apostrophe so it’s like two words in one. One mnemonic goes: “They’re going there in their car.” – it uses all three correctly in one simple sentence. You can show that and analyze each:

  • they’re = they are

  • there = location (maybe pointing to a map when saying it)

  • their = belonging to them (the car belongs to them)

Encourage frequent self-check: With these homophones, one of the best habits is proofreading specifically for them. After writing, have the student skim their work just looking for there/their/they’re. If they find one, double-check it. Many teachers make posters or chants: “There shows place, their shows ownership, they’re is short for they are!” Repeating this occasionally reinforces it. Another tip is writing example sentences or flashcards for each meaning.

It might also help to emphasize that their is plural possessive but can also be used singular (like “someone lost their hat” in modern usage) – though maybe don’t complicate with that now; stick to plural concept for clarity.

Frequent mix-ups like this are normal. It takes practice, but eventually, the differences will stick. Point out to your child that they already distinguish these when reading or listening; it’s just about remembering which spelling goes with which meaning in writing. A bit of extra attention now will save them a lot of confusion later, since these words appear constantly.

Practice, practice: When you see these words in books, occasionally ask, “Which there/their/they’re is that?” to reinforce knowledge in context. Praise them when they use the right one in their writing. If they mess one up, don’t scold – just remind them of the rule or have them apply the test. With time, choosing the correct there/their/they’re will become second nature.

To, Too, and Two

Next up is another trio of sound-alike words: to, too, and two (all pronounced like “to” or “tue”). They are easier to tell apart in terms of meaning than there/their/they’re, but young kids still commonly confuse to and too in writing (and sometimes two as well if spelling is an issue). Let’s clarify each:

• To (one “o”) is the most common. It’s either used as part of an infinitive verb (“to run, to play, to be”) or as a preposition indicating direction/destination (“to the store, to school”). For example: “I like to read.” or “We’re going to the park.” It can also mean “towards” in a figurative sense, like “attention to detail.”

• Too (two “o”s) has two main uses:

  1. It means “also” or “as well.” Example: “I want to go, too.” (similar to saying “I also want to go.”). Or “She is coming, too.”

  2. It indicates excess or more than enough, like “too much,” “too tall,” “too noisy.” Example: “It’s too hot outside.” meaning excessively hot, more than is comfortable.
     You can remember this because “too” has an extra O, almost like it’s in excess or in addition – it has one more o than “to” because it means “more/also.” One trick students use: too has too many O’s (i.e., more than needed – which fits with “too = more than needed”).

• Two (t-w-o) is the number 2. It’s the spelling for the quantity after one. Example: “I have two pets.” or “Two plus two equals four.” There’s no trick with meaning here – it’s just the number, and it’s spelled oddly compared to how it sounds. Kids usually learn to recognize “two” as the number via sight since early math is full of it. They might mix up spelling with to/too, but if you ask them “does it mean the number?”, they can identify if “two” is needed.

Common mix-ups:

• Using too in place of to: e.g., “I want too play” (should be “to play”). Or “Lets go too the movies.” These likely happen because the child knows too is a word and might overgeneralize its use, or might just put an extra o accidentally when writing quickly.

• Using to in place of too: e.g., “I ate to much candy” (should be “too much”). Or “Can I come to?” (should be “too” meaning also).

• Mixing up two: sometimes spelled as “to” or “too” by younger kids who don’t recall the silent W. For example, “I have to apples.” (should be two apples). Or “too + 2 = 4” where they clearly meant the number.

Tricks to remember:

• One ‘O’ vs two ‘O’s: As mentioned, “too = also or excessively, think of it as ‘in addition’ so it gets an additional o.” Also, “too much of something has too many O’s.” If something is overly done (too long, too cold), the word itself is a little longer with that extra O.

• To is never by itself at the end meaning also. If a sentence ends in a “too/also” sense, it must be too, not to. For example, “I want to go too.” If you wrote “I want to go to.” – you can tell something’s missing (to where?). But if you mean “as well,” it should be too. A fun way to reinforce: “to” is like a preposition arrow →, it points to something (to the store, to eat, to her friend). If the sentence just stops, to would be left hanging. But too has the self-contained meaning of “also.”

• Two = number 2. Perhaps draw the numeral 2 and the word two next to each other. They share a W shape sort of (2 has a curve but you can liken it to shape, maybe not the strongest mnemonic). One thing to highlight: two is the only one with a W, and it’s the only one that’s a number. You can say, “T-W-O, the W reminds me of ‘double’ – as in double meaning of two (pair).” Or note that “two” contains “tw” which is like “twin” or “twice” – all related to the concept of two. The spelling of two is tricky historically (like how we pronounce the W in twin but not in two). Often, memory and practice is the way with this.

Exercises for to/too/two:

• Fill-in-the-blanks: Create sentences where they must choose the right form:

  • “I have ___ hands and ___ feet.” (two, two)

  • “I want ___ finish my project ___.” (to finish, too – meaning also, if context allows, e.g., maybe someone else finished theirs, and this child also wants to finish)

  • “It’s ___ cold in here.” (too cold – excessively cold)

  • “We are going ___ the beach at ___ o’clock.” (to the beach, at two o’clock)

  • “He ate ___ many cookies and felt sick.” (too many)

  • “Are you coming ___?” (too, meaning as well)

  • “I need ___ buy ___ new notebooks.” (to buy, two new notebooks)

  After they fill them in, discuss each answer.

• Match meanings: Write “to = goes with verbs or direction (to jump, to school)”, “too = also or very”, “two = number 2” on a paper. Then give examples and have them point to which definition it matches. For instance, say “I’m too tired” – they should indicate the “also/very” (excessively) definition. Or “two puppies” – number definition, etc.

• Substitution test: Similar to they’re=they are test, we have small tests:

  • If you can replace it with “also” or “as well” and it makes sense, you needed too. Example: “Can I come as well?” fits “Can I come too?” Or “She was also hungry.” fits “She was too hungry” (though that could also mean excessively hungry – context matters). If you mean “also” and you’ve written “to,” that’s wrong.

  • If you can replace it with “excessively” or “overly” (or even “sooo” in a kid-speak way), use too. For instance, “This puzzle is too hard” means “so hard/excessively hard.”

  • If you can replace the word with a specific destination or verb phrase, it’s probably to. For example, in “I want to read,” you can see “to read” is a verb phrase (infinitive) – that structure calls for “to.” Or “We went to —” if you can fill in a place, “to” is correct.

  • If the context clearly involves numbers or counting, think two. If they write “I have to dogs” – you can ask: do you mean the number? If yes, then it should be two dogs.

• Homophone corner: Sometimes teachers have kids make a homophone mini-dictionary or chart. For to/too/two, have them write each spelling, the meaning, and a sample sentence or illustration.

  • Two – maybe draw two apples.

  • Too – draw someone with a lot of something or plus sign for 'also'.

  • To – draw an arrow or someone moving towards a place.
    Visual memory can reinforce the differences.

Remind them that to is extremely common and usually spelled with one O. Too with two O’s is less common but important for “also” or “overly.” Two is just the number and when in doubt if it’s about quantity, probably that one.

Also, sometimes kids overcorrect after learning about too. They might start spelling “to” as “too” everywhere because they think every “to” at the end of a sentence must have two O’s. Emphasize meaning: we only double the O if we mean “also” or “excess.” If the sentence is “I want to play” – ask, does “to play” mean “also play” or is it connecting to a verb? It’s connecting to a verb, so one O.

One more mnemonic that some use: “TO has one O, like one person going to one place. TOO has an extra O, because it means more, like in addition or extra.” and “TWO is the only one that’s a number – it has W as in tWo” – maybe remind that “W” starts words like “double, twin” which relate to two.

Ultimately, lots of practice sentences and gentle correction will help iron these out. Many students get the hang of to/too/two by middle primary, but occasional slip-ups can occur if they’re rushing. Always encourage proofreading: specifically say “check your to/too/two usage.” This targeted check helps them focus on the commonly confused parts.

Your vs You’re

Here’s a pair that often puzzles children: your and you’re. They sound identical (“yore”), but their meanings are quite distinct. Mixing them up can cause confusion (and is a classic error to correct in writing). Let’s break them down:

• Your is a possessive adjective, meaning “belonging to you.” Use your before a noun to indicate that something is owned by or associated with “you” (the person being spoken/written to). For example: “Is that your hat?” (the hat that belongs to you). Or “I like your idea.” If you can rephrase with “you have a …” it might be showing possession: “you have a hat” – that’s your hat. Common phrases: your house, your friend, your turn, your favorite color, etc.

• You’re is a contraction of “you are.” The apostrophe stands in for the missing “a.” For example: “You’re my best friend.” (means “You are my best friend.”) Or “Make sure you’re on time.” (“you are on time”). Anytime you mean to say “you are,” you should use you’re. If not, then your is likely correct. Kids often forget the apostrophe or misplace it, writing “your” when they mean “you are,” or sometimes writing “you’r” or “your’e” incorrectly when attempting the contraction.

Common mix-ups:

• Writing your when they mean you’re: e.g., “Your really nice.” (should be “You’re really nice” meaning “You are really nice.”). Or “I think your cool.” This is quite common because kids often use “your” for everything until taught otherwise.

• Writing you’re when your is needed: e.g., “Is that you’re dog?” (should be “your dog” – belonging to you). Or “You’re shoes are untied.” (should be “Your shoes…”). This might happen less often initially (kids tend to overuse your), but once they learn about you’re, they might start hypercorrecting and using you’re in places it doesn’t belong.

• Spelling issues: sometimes a kid might write “youre” (forgetting the apostrophe) or “yoor” if spelling by sound, but usually by the time this concept comes, spelling of “your” is known.

Tricks to remember:

• The Apostrophe Test: This is the most straightforward and important one: if you can substitute “you are” in the sentence, then you’re is correct. If “you are” doesn’t make sense, use your. For example, in “I like your drawing,” test: “I like you are drawing.” That makes no sense in meaning (though grammatically it transforms to a different idea). So your is right. In “You’re a great artist,” test: “You are a great artist.” – that works perfectly, so it should be you’re. This test never fails because you’re literally means you are.

• Possessive vs contraction: Emphasize that your shows ownership (something you have), whereas you’re is a contraction meaning you are. Sometimes I have students think: if there’s a noun right after, often it’s your. “Your book, your mom, your hand” – those are possessions. If there’s an adjective or verb phrase after, it might be you’re. “You’re late, you’re running, you’re awesome” – those are all “you are …”. This rule of thumb works much of the time, although your can be before gerunds (which look like verbs - e.g. “I appreciate your helping me” – that’s a bit advanced and rare for kids to use). But typically,

  • your + noun (your coat, your idea, your jumping jacks (gerund noun))

  • you’re + adjective/verb-ing/phrase (you’re funny, you’re going to win).

• Memory aid: “You’re has an apostrophe because it’s two words in one (you + are). Your is just one word (no apostrophe) for ownership.” Some students like to think of you’re as always being a contraction and look for that apostrophe as a clue. The absence of an apostrophe in your tells us it’s not a contraction. Also, mention that in you’re, the apostrophe kind of “replaces” the letter A in “are.” They can visualize you’re = you a re with the apostrophe taking the place of the 'a'. On the other hand, your has no missing letters; it’s a complete word on its own.

• Perhaps use the word “our”: Sometimes teachers say, think of your similar to our. They’re both possessives with no apostrophe. “We love our school; You love your school.” That parallels structure (both no apostrophe, both showing possession). Our doesn’t get confused with we’re typically, so aligning your with our might help some kids to see it as possessive.

• Funny sentence: Create a sentence that uses both: “If you’re not careful, you’ll mix up your words.” This shows both clearly: you’re = you are not careful; your words (the words that belong to you). Or “Do you know when you’re getting your new puppy?” – talk through it: first part is “you are getting,” second is "your new puppy" (the puppy belonging to you). Making a few double-use sentences and analyzing them can reinforce understanding.

• Caution about spoken language: In casual speech, people sometimes say things like “I appreciate you helping me” where “you helping” is actually a noun clause functioning as object – some kids might interpret that as “your helping me” vs “you helping me” – this is a nuance not necessary for primary level, but if a student writes “Thank you for you’re help,” you’d correct it to “your help,” explaining that help belonging to you. Just stick to the basics: if the sentence is about something that belongs to “you”, use your.

Exercises:

• Fill-in sentences:

  • “____ my best friend.” (You’re my best friend – you are my best friend.)

  • “Don’t forget ____ jacket.” (your jacket – the jacket belonging to you.)

  • “I think ____ right about this.” (you’re right – you are right.)

  • “Is this ____ pencil?” (your pencil – does this pencil belong to you?)

  • “Make sure ____ ready for school.” (you’re ready – you are ready.)

  • “What is ____ favorite color?” (your favorite color – belonging to you.)

  • “If ____ happy and you know it, clap ____ hands.” (If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands – double whammy)

• Mix and correct: Write a short paragraph incorrectly swapping your/you’re and have the child fix it. For example: “Your very good at playing piano. Is that you’re music book or mine? I think your going to be a star with you’re talent!” Then go through each: “Your very good” – should be you’re (you are very good). “Is that you’re music book” – should be your (the book belonging to you). “I think your going to be a star” – should be you’re (you are going to be a star). “with you’re talent” – should be your (the talent that belongs to you).

• Apostrophe importance demo: Sometimes it helps to show how a missing or misplaced apostrophe changes meaning. Write “Your dinner” vs “You’re dinner”. The second one implies “you are dinner” (like someone is going to eat you!). Kids find that humorous and it underlines how “you’re” = “you are”. Another: “Let’s eat, Grandma” vs “Let’s eat Grandma” style of play: “You’re my friend” vs “Your my friend” – one is right, the other doesn’t expand correctly. Or “I love you’re smile” (I love you are smile – nonsense). These silly interpretations make the lesson stick.

Encourage the student to always proofread specifically for your/you’re and apply the you are test. After a while, it will become almost automatic. They’ll start writing “you’re” when needed without thinking because they understand it as “you are”.

One extra tip: in speech, you’re and your are indistinguishable. So some kids might write “I see you’re dog” because they think “you are dog? that doesn’t sound right, but I hear ‘you’re’” – they might not internalize the difference until they practice writing it out. So reading and writing lots of examples is key. When you speak, occasionally emphasize by artificially pronouncing the apostrophe: like “You are – you’re – a great helper with your chores.” They might hear a subtle difference or at least see it written in your practice texts.

Lots of middle schoolers and even adults slip up on this when typing fast or not paying attention, so if your primary schooler masters this, they’re ahead of the game! Keep reinforcing gently, and celebrate when they get it right: “Nice job using you’re correctly there!”

Then vs Than

The words then and than are often confused because they look similar and sound similar (especially in some accents or when spoken quickly, the vowel sound can blur). However, they have very different uses:

• Then usually relates to time, sequence, or what comes next. It can mean “at that time” or “afterwards” or “next.” For example: “I did my homework, then I watched TV.” (here then means “after that”). Or “Back then, I was shorter.” (meaning “at that time in the past”). It’s also used in if-then statements: “If you practice, then you will improve.”

• Than is used for comparisons. It typically follows a comparative adjective/adverb like bigger, smaller, faster, more, less, etc. Example: “My dog is bigger than your dog.” Or “She runs faster than I do.” It shows contrast between two things. If you see words like more, less, -er endings (taller, smarter) or prefer, etc., than should come after for the comparison (more X than Y).

Quick way to differentiate:

• Then = when (both have “e” as the second letter) – not a perfect mnemonic, but it rhymes and reminds then relates to time.

• Than = compare (a in than, like in compare – though compare has o/a, hmm). Another memory: “Than” has an A, and so does “comparison” (written comparison, which might not visually help a ton). Or think "than is used with numbers or amounts sometimes (greater than 5), and and than both have an 'a'"

Better, perhaps, is to directly teach their usage context:

• Then -> time/sequence. You can say, “then tells when.” Actually, yes: Then/When rhyme, and both relate to time. When did it happen? Then it happened. That’s a handy mnemonic: then = at that point/time. Another: then has ten in it; think of a clock (10 o’clock) or sequence (ten comes after nine) to associate with time/sequence.

• Than -> comparison. Maybe emphasize that than is almost always used after comparatives or in unequal statements. You often see than right next to words like more, less, -er words (smaller than, bigger than). So whenever it's a this vs that scenario, than is likely needed.

Common mix-ups:

• Kids might write “He is taller then me.” (should be than me, because it's a comparison).

• Or “First we went to the park, than we had ice cream.” (should be then we had ice cream – sequence).

• Sometimes it's a simple spelling slip where they mean one and write the other due to not differentiating or thinking.

Tricks and practice:

• Exaggerate pronunciation difference: In careful speech, “then” has a short /e/ sound, and “than” has a short /a/ (which can sound like /e/ to some, but slightly different). Maybe demonstrate, though in many dialects they sound almost the same. In American English, “than” often sounds like “thæn” and “then” like “thɛn”. Not sure if that helps kids, but you can try to subtly differentiate.

• Memory phrase: “If it’s about time, use then with an e. If it’s a comparison, use than with an a.” Write that out and let them keep it as a note.

• Homophone context clues: Actually, "then" and "than" are not exactly homophones to all (some distinguish them slightly), but to kids they likely are in effect. So relying on context is key:

  • Look for comparative words nearby. If see “better, worse, more, less, -er than, etc.” expect than.

  • Look for a sequence or timeline. If it's like “first, next, later” kind of meaning, expect then.

• Visual mnemonic: Some people say: than vs then – A in than for compArison, E in then for timE. This highlights the last letter too: E for timE, A for compArison (even though comparison isn't spelled with an A first, the sound 'pair' in com-par-ison might help? Or "compAre has an A like thAn"). Even pointing out "than" is used with "more thAn, less thAn" – both those comparison words have an A right before than. "then" often comes with words like "and then" – not sure if there's an O clue. Eh, maybe stick to logic.

• Practice sentences:

  • “I would rather have pizza ____ salad.” (Answer: than salad – preferring one over another, it's a comparison)

  • “We went to the movie, ____ we got dinner.” (Answer: then we got dinner – sequence of events)

  • “My brother is older ____ I am.” (than I am – comparison)

  • “Finish your homework, ____ you can play.” (then you can play – one action following another or conditional sequence)

  • “This puzzle is harder ____ the last one.” (harder than – comparison)

  • “Back ____, phones didn’t have cameras.” (Back then – referring to a past time)

  After filling these, ask why each is as it is. Like "why 'than' here?" – because it's comparing puzzle difficulty. "Why 'then' here?" – because it's telling what comes next or came before.

• Th-an vs th-en quick test: Some suggest doing the replacement test: If you mean “at that time” or “next,” use then. If you mean “in comparison to,” use than. So take a sentence: "I was shorter then/than I am now." Do I mean "I was shorter at that time I am now"? or "I was shorter in comparison to now"? It's actually comparison of past vs present height, so it's than (I was shorter than now). But that one might be tricky. Try "We’ll go shopping, then head home." Here it's clearly sequence, so then. "I like chocolate more then/than vanilla." – clearly a comparison between chocolate and vanilla, so than.

• Rhyme mnemonic from TeacherDirect: They had: "Then is often used to talk about time... remember then is used for time because there is a “t” and “e” in both words. There is no “e” in “than.”" This is a bit convoluted but they try: 'time' has T and E, 'then' has T and E. 'than' has no E, it's not time but a comparison. We could adapt: "Then and when both have E, so then = when/time. Than has A and so does compare (sound of it or letter A in 'than', concept of compArison)." Eh, it might click for some.

• Fun comparison exercise: Have your child make comparative statements about things they like, forcing use of than: e.g., "Cats are better than dogs? Or dogs are better than cats?" etc. Then make timeline statements using then: "First I brush my teeth, then I go to bed." Could even have them draw a comic or sequence and label with "then", or draw two items and label with "bigger than etc."

One caution: In some structures, "than" can be followed by an implied clause or pronoun, which some kids might think looks like "then". E.g., "He's taller than I." or "than me." That me/I might confuse, but the presence of than indicates comparison regardless of what follows.

Point out also that than is not used for time. So if they see themselves writing "than we went somewhere" – that should be then. Conversely, if they write "more then" – wrong, should be more than. So pairing with words is key:

• More/less/bigger/smaller/other comparatives -> than.

• And then, since then, until then, then at that moment, next then -> then.

Encourage them, as with others, to proofread their work specifically for this if it's a recurring error. It's somewhat easier to catch if they read the sentence and identify if it's a comparison or a sequence.

After some practice, the difference becomes second nature. Many English learners memorize it by usage frequency: "than" just follows comparatives, period. "then" is everything else in these contexts.

A quick check for older kids: "than" is never used when talking about chronological order, and "then" is never used in direct comparisons. Getting them to articulate that rule might help them internalize it.

Affect vs Effect (upper primary focus)

Now we come to a pair of advanced vocabulary words that even adults mix up: affect and effect. These are typically introduced or emphasized in upper primary (Year 5-6) as students’ writing becomes more sophisticated. The confusion is understandable – not only do they sound almost the same, but their meanings are related. However, they are different parts of speech and used in different ways.

Here’s the simplest way to differentiate:

• Affect (with an “a”) is usually a verb. It means to influence or change. For example: “Cold weather affects my mood.” (meaning cold weather influences or changes my mood). Or “Not studying will affect your grades.” (will influence your grades, likely negatively).

• Effect (with an “e”) is usually a noun. It means a result or outcome. For example: “Cold weather has an effect on my mood.” (it has a result on my mood). Or “The special effects in that movie were cool.” (here “effects” means results or things produced – like visual effects).

A classic memory trick: Affect = Action (both start with A); Effect = End result (both start with E). This works well:

• Affect as an action (verb) – to affect something is to act upon it (to have an influence).

• Effect as an end result (noun) – the effect is the end product or outcome.

Another trick: you can often put an article before effect (the effect, an effect) since it's a noun. But you wouldn't put one before affect in those cases because it's verb (you wouldn't say "the affect" unless using a rare meaning of affect as noun from psychology meaning demeanor, which is beyond primary). For primary, stick to the main common meanings (affect = verb, effect = noun).

Subtleties:

• Sometimes effect can be a verb meaning "to bring about" (like "to effect change"), and affect can be a noun in psychology (meaning mood or emotion display). But those uses are more rare and advanced – not for primary level. Focus on the primary uses: affect (verb) vs effect (noun).

Why it's tricky: They are pronounced similarly (ə-fekt vs i-fekt, in rapid speech often both sound like "uh-fect"). They deal with cause and result, which are conceptually linked, so it's easy to blur them. And sometimes in a sentence either could almost make sense logically, but one is correct grammatically. E.g., "The weather affected my plans." vs "The weather effected my plans." The second one is grammatically wrong in the intended meaning (weather doesn't "effect" plans, it might "affect" them or "have an effect on" them).

Tips for remembering and using correctly:

• A for action, E for end-result: Keep repeating the Affect = Action (verb), Effect = Result (noun) mantra. Perhaps write it on a flashcard and quiz on examples.

• Use in a sentence trick: Try putting the in front of the word. If the [word] makes sense, likely effect. For example, "The effect was surprising." That works; "the affect was surprising" doesn't sound right (unless in psychological jargon, which we ignore).

• Or try adding -ed or -ing as you would a verb. "It affected me" (works, shows verb usage). "It effected me" (not typical usage; "effected a change" is advanced structure, but usually not in everyday context).

• Memory sentence with hint: The teacher direct source gave: "Affect = action... Effect = end result" – maybe make the hint part of a sentence: "The arrow affects the target, and the end effect is a hole." It's cheesy but might stick: arrow starts with A (action, affect), end starts with E (result, effect).

• Another example: "The rain affected our plans vs the rain had an effect on our plans." Show these two side by side:

  • affected (verb) = influenced/changed,

  • had an effect (noun) = had a result/impact.

Exercises:

• Fill in blanks:

  • “The loud music ___ my concentration.” (Answer: affected – used as a verb meaning disturbed/influenced)

  • “The loud music had a bad ___ on my concentration.” (Answer: effect – noun, result)

  • “Studying hard will ___ your grades positively.” (Affect – verb)

  • “Studying hard has a positive ___ on your grades.” (Effect – noun)

  • “We don’t know what ___ the new law will have.” (effect – "what result")

  • “How will the new law ___ us?” (affect – "how will it influence us")

• Mixed usage identification: Present sentences and ask if the italicized word is correct or should be the other:

  • “The medicine had no effect on him.” (Is 'effect' correct? Yes, it's a noun meaning result.)

  • “Don’t let the cold weather effect your mood.” (Should that be 'affect'? Yes, because it's being used as a verb 'don’t let it influence your mood'.)

  • “His smile affected everyone in the room.” (Correct, 'affected' is a verb meaning influenced.)

  • “His smile had an affect on everyone in the room.” (Incorrect, should be 'effect' as a noun: had an effect.)

  • (Trick one): “She wanted to effect change in the system.” (This is actually a correct usage meaning 'bring about change', but this meaning of effect-as-verb is advanced, likely confuse them if included. I'd skip such exceptions in initial teaching. Keep to the main rule until they're solid, then maybe mention the exception exists but is rare.)

• Learn as a pair: The concept of cause and effect. Could relate "affect" with cause (both C sound, cause = verb, affect = verb) and "effect" with the noun result. Perhaps make a cause-effect diagram for a scenario: cause: "It rained on the picnic" (this cause affects the picnic plans), effect: "We moved indoors" (that's the effect, the result). Label the arrows with "affect" from cause to effect, and the outcome as "effect." This visual might help.

Since these are upper primary, you can even introduce how to use them distinctly in the same context:

• "The weather affects our mood. The effect of weather on our mood is noticeable." See how affect is verb in first, effect is noun in second but they convey similar idea. Let them practice converting one form to the other:

  • X affects Y -> the effect of X on Y.

  • E.g., "Technology affects our daily lives." -> "The effect of technology on our daily lives is significant."
    This reinforces which is which.

And share with them an anecdote: many grown-ups still confuse these (it is a top grammar pet peeve for some), so if they master it now, they’ll stand out as strong writers. That's a little motivator.

Above all, the Action vs Result trick is key. Emphasize that each time they write one, they should double-check: Is this a verb or a noun in my sentence? If verb, likely affect; if noun, likely effect. Encourage them to do that consciously for a while until it becomes automatic.

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Having navigated punctuation, sentence structure, confusable words, and tense, we’ve armed ourselves with a lot of grammar know-how. Next, we’ll turn to more grammar fundamentals like tense consistency, subject-verb agreement, and so on, but already we’ve covered a huge amount that will help primary students avoid common traps. Keep these examples and tips handy; they’re great to review whenever writing challenges arise!