Primary

Grammar
progression

Fidelia Nimmons
 Preface
This programme is a complete practical tool to help teachers and parents teach children
under their care to master basic skills in grammar and punctuation; these are the essential
tools for mastering the skills of effective reading and writing. Spelling, another essential tool
for reading and writing is covered elsewhere in the booklet Primary Spelling and Phonics
programme by the same author. The last essential skill for effective reading is language and
context comprehension, this can be developed using graded reading books like Ladybird or
schools published reading schemes and answering comprehension questions on texts read.

The programme is designed for use from the Reception class year up to Key stage 3 (children
aged 5 to 12 years) and is divided into grammatical awareness and punctuation sections.
The structure is progressive from year to year with constant revision built in for each year
group; this enables opportunity for slower children to revisit work from previous years and
for faster children to progress at their own pace. Children learning English as a second
language will also find the teaching sequence helpful.

The programme can be used as a day to day reference material for the busy teacher; it cuts
down on planning time and if used consistently should enable all children to become fully
literate by the time they leave primary school. It can also serve as a useful tool for subject
leaders and the school leadership team when monitoring teaching and learning of literacy
and cross curricula work in their school.

The programme enables children to:

 Have a growing repertoire of vocabulary to use in their speaking and writing

activities

 Develop an interest in books and other literary works

 Use the full range of reading cues to monitor their reading

 Have an interest in words and their meanings

 Read and write with confidence and fluency

 Develop their powers of imaginative word use in creative and inventive writing

 Plan, draft, evaluate and edit their writing using appropriate words and punctuation

This programme serves as a companion to the Complete Language Structures kit by Fidelia
Nimmons which can be downloaded from:
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/english/englishB15.htm

These series of programmes have been developed from my work as a reading and writing
expert teacher working with hard to teach primary school children in South London .
Grammar and punctuation work to be covered from Reception year to year 6

Year Grammatical awareness Punctuation

R Nouns, verbs, pronouns, prepositional words

Teach: Punctuation to master:

 use capital letters for start of their Capital letter for names
own names

 Write captions and labels for pictures

 Write sentences to match pictures or

sequences of pictures using thinking-
writing skills

 Use correct sequence of movements

to write letters
1 Nouns, verbs, pronouns, prepositional words Capital letter for names

Nouns- special names begin with capital Capital letter for start of
letters a sentence

Describing words (make sentences more Capital letter for

interesting) personal pronoun I

More (-er) most (-est) Capital letter for

personal titles (Mr, Mrs)
Verbs regular past tense (-ed)
Use full stop for ending
Did/ done (has)
sentences
Adverb (-ly)
Use question marks for
Plurals (s, es) questions (what, where,
when, why, how?)
Articles a and an
Punctuation to master:
Teach: form simple sentences with one
verb .?

2 Nouns, verbs, pronouns, prepositional Capital letter for names

words, connectives, pronouns Capital letter for start of
a sentence
Nouns- special names begin with capital
letters Capital letter for
personal pronoun I
Describing words (make sentences more
interesting) Capital letter for
personal titles (Mr, Mrs)
More adjectives
Use full stop for ending
More (-er) most (-est)
sentences
Verbs regular past tense (-ed)
Use question marks for
Use past tense consistently questions words – who,
when, how, what,
Did/ done (has), catch /caught , give/ gave
where, which
Adverb (-ly)
Use comma when we
Plurals (s, es) more than one take a breath

Articles a and an Use comma in a list

Use of article an with words beginning with Use of exclamation

silent h in an hour mark to:

Owning words (pronouns) my, his, her, its, Mark surprise, humour,
yours joy

Opposite words Show fear, anger, pain,

danger,
Person verb agreement (I run, you run, he
runs, they run) giving an order or
shouting
Noun / pronoun/ verb agreement ( I ma,
they are, we are, he is) identify speech marks in
reading
Comparative nouns e.g. long, longer, longest
Shortening words using
Connectives ‘and’ and ‘but’ to join two
full stops or the high
simple sentences
comma ‘
 Collective nouns –e.g. a team of players

Teach form simple and compound Punctuation to master:

sentences.
.?!, “ “
A simple sentence has one verb

Compound sentences are two or more

simple sentences joined together

Compound sentences are joined by a

conjunction such as ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘because’
etc e.g. Harry fell down, broke his wrist and
was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
3 Nouns, verbs, pronouns, prepositional Capital letter for names
words, connectives, pronouns
Capital letter for start of
Nouns- special names begin with capital a sentence
letters
Capital letter for
Describing words (make sentences more personal pronoun I
interesting)
Capital letter for
More (-er) most (-est) personal titles (Mr, Mrs)

Singular and plural nouns Use full stop for ending

sentences
Verbs regular past tense (-ed)
Use of full stop for
Use past tense consistently
abbreviation
Use verb tenses with increasing accuracy in
Use of full stop for when
speaking and writing
a word has been made
Did/ done (has), catch /caught , give/ gave shorter

Verbs is/are, was/ were Use question marks for

questions words – who,
Adverb (-ly) (how words)
when, how, what,
Find good adverbs to describe the verb where, which

Use comma when we

Plurals (s, es) more than one take a breath

Articles a and an Use comma in a list

Use of article an with words beginning with Use comma to help

silent h in an hour make meaning clearer:

Owning words (pronouns) my, his, her, its, Julia says her sister is ill.
yours (sister ill)

Opposite words Julia, says her sister, is ill

(Julia ill).
Person verb agreement (I run, you run, he
runs, they run) Use of exclamation
mark to
Noun / pronoun/ verb agreement ( I ma,
they are, we are, he is) Mark surprise, humour,
joy
Comparative nouns e.g. long, longer, longest
Show fear, anger, pain,
Connectives ‘and’ and ‘but’ to join two
danger,
simple sentences
giving an order or
Collective nouns –e.g. a team of players
shouting
Abstract nouns e.g. feelings, thoughts
identify speech marks in
Main clause & dependent clause reading

Figures of speech – similes, metaphors understand basic

conventions of speech
Other connectives:
punctuation
When, because, until, before,
Shortening words using
Use these to form complex sentences full stops or the high
(dependent clause) comma ‘

Teach sentence with two verbs of equal Use of apostrophe for

weight is a compound sentence. ownership /possession

Complex sentence contains a main clause Other uses of

and a subordinate clause. capitalisation:
 A phrase is any group of words which taken Personal pronoun I
together in a sentence, function as a part of
Each line of a poem
speech:
Begin exact words
Noun phrases act together as a noun -
spoken in inverted
Reading a book is good hobby (what: the
commas
subject)
Words in titles
Adjectival phrase act together as an
adjective – The woman in the red shiny dress
is the owner of the cafe (which woman)
Punctuation to master:
A Verb phrase forms a verb My mum will be
‘.?!, “ “
leaving for the station in an hour (what does
or did the subject do?)
4 Nouns, verbs, pronouns, prepositional Capital letter for names
words, connectives, pronouns
Capital letter for start of
Nouns- special names begin with capital a sentence
letters
Capital letter for
Describing words (make sentences more personal pronoun I
interesting)
Capital letter for
Comparative nouns personal titles (Mr, Mrs)

Collective nouns Use full stop for ending

sentences
More (-er) most (-est)
Use of full stop for
Singular and plural nouns
abbreviation
Verbs regular past tense (-ed)
Use of full stop for when
Use past tense consistently a word has been made
shorter
Use verb tenses with increasing accuracy in
speaking and writing Use question marks for
questions words – who,
Did/ done (has), catch /caught , give/ gave
when, how, what,
Verbs is/are, was/ were where, which

Verb tense: present, past, future Use comma when we

take a breath
Adverb (-ly) (how words)
Use comma in a list
Find good adverbs to describe the verb
use comma to separate
Plurals (s, es) more than one
group of words
Articles a and an
use comma to separate
Use of article an with words beginning with connectives that come in
silent h in an hour pairs in sentences e.g.
neither - nor,
Owning words (pronouns) my, his, her, its,
yours use comma to separate a
subordinate clause from
Opposite words
the main clause in a
Person verb agreement (I run, you run, he sentence
runs, they run)
Use of exclamation
Noun / pronoun/ verb agreement ( I ma, mark to
they are, we are, he is)
Mark surprise, humour,
Verb / noun agreement joy

Comparative adjectives e.g. long, longer, Show fear, anger, pain,

longest danger,

Connectives ‘and’ and ‘but’ to join two giving an order or

simple sentences shouting

Collective nouns –e.g. a team of players identify speech marks in

reading
Abstract nouns e.g. feelings, thoughts
understand basic
Main clause & dependent clause
conventions of speech
Figures of speech – similes, metaphors, punctuation
personification
Shortening words using
full stops or the high
Phrases, sentences & paragraphs comma

Other connectives: Use of apostrophe for

ownership /possession
When, because, until, before,
To show possession: The
Use these to form complex sentences
girl’s shoe
(dependent clause)
The girls’ shoes
Teach sentence with two verbs of equal
weight is a compound sentence Use in abbreviation – to
show where letters are
More connectives
missing: don’t (do not)
Until, before, after, unless, if
For some unusual
Use alternative (powerful) adverbs and plurals: 7’s and 9’s; and
adjectives to make writing more interesting p’s and q’s ; and A’s and
B’s
Direct and indirect speech
Basic rules for
Investigate word classes e.g.
apostrophising:
Noun (pleasure) Adjective (pleasant)
To show possession
Verb(please) Adverb (pleasurably)
A single noun add s,
Jane’s hat
Adverbial phrases answer the questions:
A plural noun ending in
how, where, when or why e.g.
s, add ‘ boys’ bags
Last night, Danielle drove her car carefully
A plural noun not ending
down the road, as it was snowing heavily.
in s, add s – women’s
How did she drive – carefully (adverb) bags

Where did she drive – down the road Boy’s hat, boys’ hats
(adverb- where the verb is happening)
Other uses of
When did she drive? Last night (adverb- capitalisation:
when the verb happened)
Personal pronoun I
Teach: Complex sentence contains a main
 clause and a subordinate clause. Each line of a poem

Complex sentence can be made up of a Begin exact words

single clause(a phrase with one verb) and spoken in inverted
one or more noun, adjectival or adverbial commas
clauses
Words in titles

Punctuation to master:

Respond to punctuations

‘ . ? ! , “ “ ; : - ( ) -- ... in
reading
5 Nouns, verbs, pronouns, prepositional Capital letter for names
words, connectives, pronouns , proverbs,
Capital letter for start of
idioms, slangs
a sentence
Nouns- special names begin with capital
Capital letter for
letters
personal pronoun I
Describing words (make sentences more
Capital letter for
interesting)
personal titles (Mr, Mrs)
Comparative nouns
Use full stop for ending
Collective nouns sentences

More (-er) most (-est) Use of full stop for

abbreviation
Singular and plural nouns
Use of full stop for when
Verbs regular past tense (-ed)
a word has been made
Use past tense consistently shorter

Use verb tenses with increasing accuracy in Use question marks for
speaking and writing questions words – who,
when, how, what,
Did/ done (has), catch /caught , give/ gave
where, which
Verbs is/are, was/ were
Use comma when we
Verb tense: present, past, future take a breath

Auxillary verbs – have, was, shall, will Use comma in a list

Verb forms – active, interrogative, use comma to separate

imperative group of words

Adverb (-ly) (how words) use comma to separate

connectives that come in
Find good adverbs to describe the verb
pairs in sentences e.g.
Plurals (s, es) more than one neither nor,

Articles a and an use comma to separate a

subordinate clause from
Use of article an with words beginning with
the main clause in a
silent h in an hour
sentence
Owning words (pronouns) my, his, her, its,
Use of exclamation mark
yours
to
Pronouns – whom, who, which, it
Mark surprise, humour,
st nd
Person – 1 , 2 , 3rd joy

Opposite words Show fear, anger, pain,

danger,
Person verb agreement (I run, you run, he
runs, they run) giving an order or
shouting
Noun / pronoun/ verb agreement ( I ma,
they are, we are, he is) identify speech marks in
reading
Verb / noun agreement
understand basic
Comparative adjectives e.g. long, longer,
conventions of speech
longest
punctuation
Connectives ‘and’ and ‘but’ to join two
only put speech marks
simple sentences
round actual words
Collective nouns –e.g. a team of players spoken

when a quotation is
Abstract nouns e.g. feelings, thoughts interrupted in mid-
sentence, you don’t
Gender of nouns
need a capital letter
Main clause & dependent clause when you restart the
speech.
Figures of speech – similes, metaphors,
personification Before closing or
reopening quotation
Ongoing work on: Phrases, sentences &
marks there must always
paragraphs.
be a point of
Other connectives: punctuation, usually a
comma otherwise a full
When, because, until, before,
stop, question mark, or
Use these to form complex sentences exclamation mark
(dependent clause)
A new line should be
Teach sentence with two verbs of equal used for each new
weight is a compound sentence speaker.

More connectives If a speaker quotes

someone else, use single
Until, before, after, unless, if
quotation marks for the
Use alternative (powerful) adverbs and words the speaker is
adjectives to make writing more interesting quoting e.g. “ I heard the
man shout ‘Run!’, “Amy
Direct and indirect speech
cried.
Investigate word classes e.g.
Shortening words using
Noun (pleasure) Adjective (pleasant) full stops or the high
Verb(please) Adverb (pleasurably) comma

Use of apostrophe for

ownership /possession
Adverbial phrases – adverbs of
Basic rules for
Manner (how it was done)
apostrophising
Time (when it was done)
Boy’s hat, boys’ hats
Place ( where it was done) Other uses of
capitalisation:
Use of standard English:
Personal pronoun I
Concord agreement of singular with singular
and plural with plural. Each line of a poem

Agreement between nouns & verbs Begin exact words

spoken in inverted
Consistency of tense and subject
commas
Avoidance of double negatives
Words in titles
Avoidance of non-standard dialect words
Colon: to signal a list or
explanation

Teach: Revise composition of simple, To introduce a list or

compound and complex sentences and the example
essential points of Grammar at this stage.
Separate two statements
Teach: independent use of dictionaries, where the second
thesauri, reference books, internet explains the first
research skills etc.
To introduce a lengthy
quotation

Know all parts of speech To punctuate speech in

plays

Punctuation to master:

Respond to punctuations

‘ . ? ! , “ “ ; : - ( ) -- ... in
reading

‘ . ? ! , “ “ ; : - ( ) in
writing
6 Nouns, verbs, pronouns, prepositional Capital letter for names
words, connectives, pronouns , proverbs,
Capital letter for start of
idioms, slangs
a sentence
Nouns- special names begin with capital
Capital letter for
letters
personal pronoun I
Describing words (make sentences more
Capital letter for
interesting)
personal titles (Mr, Mrs)
Comparative nouns
Use full stop for ending
Collective nouns sentences

More (-er) most (-est) Use of full stop for

abbreviation
Singular and plural nouns
Use of full stop for when
Verbs regular past tense (-ed)
a word has been made
Use past tense consistently shorter

Use verb tenses with increasing accuracy in Use question marks for
speaking and writing questions words – who,
when, how, what,
Did/ done (has), catch /caught , give/ gave
where, which
Verbs is/are, was/ were
Use comma when we
Verb tense: present, past, future take a breath

Auxillary verbs – have, was, shall, will Use comma in a list

Verb forms – active, interrogative, use comma to separate

imperative group of words

Active and passive verbs use comma to separate

connectives that come in
Adverb (-ly) (how words)
pairs in sentences e.g.
Find good adverbs to describe the verb neither nor,

Plurals (s, es) more than one use comma to separate a

subordinate clause from
Articles a and an the main clause in a
sentence
Use of article an with words beginning with
silent h in an hour Use of exclamation mark
to
Owning words (pronouns) my, his, her, its,
yours Mark surprise, humour,
joy
Pronouns – whom, who, which, it
Show fear, anger, pain,
Person – 1st, 2nd, 3rd
danger,
Opposite words
giving an order or
Person verb agreement (I run, you run, he shouting
runs, they run)
identify speech marks in
Noun / pronoun/ verb agreement ( I ma, reading
they are, we are, he is)
understand basic
Verb / noun agreement conventions of speech
punctuation
Comparative adjectives e.g. long, longer,
longest Shortening words using
full stops or the high
Connectives ‘and’ and ‘but’ to join two
comma
simple sentences
Use of apostrophe for
Collective nouns –e.g. a team of players
ownership /possession
Abstract nouns e.g. feelings, thoughts
Basic rules for
Gender of nouns apostrophising

Know all five types of nouns: Boy’s hat, boys’ hats

Common - dog Other uses of

capitalisation:
Proper - Sandra
Personal pronoun I
Concrete – of real objects
Each line of a poem
Abstract – qualities, feelings
Begin exact words
Collective – groups spoken in inverted
commas
Know noun endings –ment, -ship, -ness,
-ence, -ance Words in titles

Main clause & dependent clause Colon: to signal a list or

explanation
Figures of speech – similes, metaphors,
personification Respond to punctuations

Phrases, sentences & paragraphs ‘ . ? ! , “ “ ; : - ( ) -- ... in

reading
Other connectives:
‘ . ? ! , “ “ ; : - ( ) -- ... in
When, because, until, before,
writing
Use these to form complex sentences
In addition, master:
(dependent clause)
Use the dash to show
Teach sentence with two verbs of equal
gaps or hesitation
weight is a compound sentence
An abrupt change of
thought
More connectives
Use dash with a colon to
Until, before, after, unless, if introduce a list

Use alternative (powerful) adverbs and Use a dash to show

adjectives to make writing more interesting longer pauses instead of
brackets
Direct and indirect speech
The Hyphen
Investigate word classes e.g.
Use the hyphen:
Noun (pleasure) Adjective (pleasant)
Verb(please) Adverb (pleasurably) To join two or more
words to make a new
Formal & informal language
compound word e.g.
Adverbial phrases – adverbs of hyper-active , single-
minded, long-lasting, up-
Manner (how it was done)
to-date
Time (when it was done)
Place ( where it was done)
Use of standard English:
To join two syllables of a
word when separated at
the end of a line e.g. se-
parate

Concord agreement of singular with singular To pair with capital

and plural with plural. letters e.g. anti-British,
U-turn
Agreement between nouns & verbs
To separate a prefix
Consistency of tense and subject
from it root word where
Avoidance of double negatives the letter combination
will look odd e.g. co-
Avoidance of non-standard dialect words
ordinate, re-emit, de-ice
Know all parts of speech
To avoid confusion with
Word classes an existing word e.g.

1. Noun re-cover, recover

2. Pronoun

3. Adjective Use ellipse (dots) to:

4. Verb Show a break in a phrase

or sentence
5. Adverb
Scraps of conversation
6. Conjunction
To show a word or
7. Preposition
words have been missed
8. Interjection out.

Know figures of speech

Simile

Metaphor

Personification
Idiom The brackets

Expression & sayings Placed round words

which give extra
Colloquialism & slangs
information which is not
Special effects words absolutely essential e.g.
an afterthought or to
Alliteration
explain something in the
Proverbs sentence.

Irony

Onomatopoeia The full stop

To show a word has

been abbreviated but
Revise language conventions and
when the first and last
grammatical features of different text types
letters are included in
through reading and writing
the abbreviation, you do
Narratives (e.g. historical stories, traditional not need a full stop: Dr,
stories, fairy tales, science fiction, myths and maths, Mrs, Emi. Utd
legends, flashbacks), recounts, instructional,
reports, explanation, persuasion,
discussions, range of letters, public notices,
adverts, diaries, range of poems, description,
Punctuation to master:
biography and autobiography.
Use and respond
effectively to all twelve
Teach: Revise composition of simple, punctuation marks in
compound and complex sentences and the reading and writing.
essential points of Grammar at this stage.

Teach: independent use of dictionaries,

‘ . ? ! , “ “ ; : - ( ) -- ...
thesauri, reference books, internet research
skills etc.