Name Grammar

7.4.1

Colons

Use a colon (:) to set off a list that is formally introduced.

The following people will create a maze: Ellen, Sonja, and Devin.

Use a colon to separate hours and minutes.

We will have a planning meeting today at 2:45 p.m.

Use a colon after the greeting in a business letter.

Dear Ms. Garcia:

> Write where the colon should be placed in each sentence.

1.    Ms. Liakos will give a talk on ancient mazes at 730 p.m.

2.    She will need the following equipment a projector, a table, and a screen.

3.    Dear Ms. Liakos

We are interested in mazes and would like to invite you to give a talk to Jefferson
School’s Art Club.

4.    Explain the meaning of the following terms maze, riddle, and quiz.

5.    Dear Editor
Students at Arborside Junior High School are curious to know if there are any people in
town who could teach them about challenging games and puzzles.

> Revisit a piece of your writing. Edit the draft to make sure all colons are used
correctly.

Grade 5 • Other Punctuation Printable

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Name Grammar
7.4.2

Parentheses

Use parentheses ( ) to set off information that interrupts a sentence and is not of
major importance to the sentence.

A labyrinth (sometimes called a unicursal maze) has a single path that winds in
toward the center.

> Rewrite each sentence. Add parentheses where they are needed.

1.    Creating a hedge maze they are very popular requires careful planning.
 

2.    Yew trees make good maze borders borders are important for outdoor mazes because
they grow slowly and keep their shape

3.    Some outdoor mazes the better designed ones have tunnels and bridges to keep
people interested as they go through.

4.    A weave maze the kind Marsha is most curious about has pathways that go under and
over each other.

5.    Maybe one day hopefully soon we will build a maze ourselves.

> Revisit a piece of your writing. Edit the draft to make sure all parentheses are used
correctly.

Grade 5 • Other Punctuation Printable

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Name Grammar
7.4.3

Using Punctuation

A hyphen is used to connect some compound adjectives. Some numbers are also
shown with hyphens.

> Rewrite each sentence. Add hyphens where needed.

1.    Fifty eight people listened to the poet read her poems.

2.    We listened to a two hour lecture.

3.    Many of the books on display have eye catching covers.

4.    One library patron tried to check out thirty three books at one time.

5.    A well known poet will be reading her work at the library tonight.

> Revisit a piece of your writing. Edit the draft to make sure hyphens are used correctly.

Grade 5 • Other Punctuation Printable

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.