Grammar Terms: Voice and Punctuation
Know and use Year 6 grammatical terminology accurately: subject, object, active voice, passive voice, synonym, antonym, ellipsis, hyphen, colon, semi-colon, bullet points
What a learner can do afterwards
- Define and give examples of subject and object in sentences
- Explain the difference between active and passive voice using correct terminology
- Use terms such as ellipsis, colon, and semi-colon accurately when discussing punctuation choices
The lesson
Grammar has special names for parts of a sentence and for punctuation marks. Knowing these names lets you talk about your writing clearly, the way an editor would.
In the sentence 'The dog chased the cat,' the subject is 'the dog' because it does the chasing. The object is 'the cat' because it receives the action.
You already know that 'The dog chased the cat' is active voice and 'The cat was chased by the dog' is passive voice. In active voice, the subject does the action. In passive voice, the subject receives the action.
Punctuation marks have names too. A colon (:) introduces a list or an explanation. A semi-colon (;) links two closely related sentences. An ellipsis (...) shows missing words or a pause. A hyphen (-) joins words together, like in 'well-known'.
When you talk about your own writing, use these exact words. Say 'the subject' or 'I used a semi-colon' instead of 'that word' or 'that dot thing.' It sounds precise and helps others understand exactly what you mean.
The subject does the action and the object receives it, and marks like the colon, semi-colon, and ellipsis each have their own name and job.
Watch it
Where it sits
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.