Year 6 SATs SPaG worksheet on commas in lists: 20 questions in the style of the SATs, with answers. Free PDF.

3-page A4 PDF from the Tiger Shark Education question bank (Punctuation): two pages of questions (insert the punctuation) and an answer page. Example questions: Insert one comma in the correct place. The farm keeps geese ponies and pigs. / Insert two commas in the correct places. My cousin has lived in Leeds Bristol Cardiff and Dundee.

What are commas in lists? Commas separate items in a list of three or more: We bought apples, pears and plums. In British English, a comma is usually not placed before the final ‘and’ or ‘or’ (although the Oxford comma is sometimes used for clarity). Lists can contain single words, phrases or longer items.

Common mistakes and tips: Children often put a comma before ‘and’ in every list, miss commas between items, or place commas between adjectives and nouns. When items are long phrases, they sometimes lose track of where each item ends. Ask pupils to underline each item first, then add commas between them, leaving the final ‘and’ without one.

Quick example to try: give pupils a list of long items, such as ‘a torch with spare batteries a map of the forest and a flask of hot chocolate’, and ask them to underline each item before adding the commas. Discuss why underlining first makes the job easier.

In the KS2 SATs, grammar and punctuation are tested in a separate paper of around 50 short questions, and this topic regularly appears. The questions on this sheet use the same styles as the test (circle, tick, underline, insert), so children practise the format as well as the knowledge.

Teaching ideas: model the first two questions together and talk through the reasoning, then let children complete the rest independently. Use the answers to group pupils for a follow-up session. For extra challenge, ask children to explain their answers in a full sentence using the correct grammatical terms.

Supporting all learners: for children who find grammar difficult, read the questions aloud and work through the first few together before they continue alone. Colour-coding word classes or clauses on mini whiteboards makes abstract ideas more concrete, and sorting word cards or building sentences from strips helps too. More confident pupils can write their own test-style questions for a partner, with the answers and a short explanation. Once each topic is secure, mix it with others, because the real test does not group questions by topic and pupils need to recognise what each question is asking them to do.