Where does the question mark go in dialogue?

Inside the quotation marks, as in "Where are you going?" asked Tom.

Concrete detail such as clothes on the floor and books on the bed lets readers see the scene.

Primary English Story Writing, Paper 2: dialogue, detail and consistent tense

2026-10-30

Tutor Prep Guide · Primary English

Punctuate dialogue, use the past continuous, replace very with concrete detail, and keep the whole story in the past.

Focus　Keep every verb in the past and replace vague very with concrete detail.

01　Paper details (check answers afterwards)

Item	Detail
Questions	10
Suggested time	25
Difficulty mix	Foundation 4 · Intermediate 3 · Challenge 2 · Error redo 1
Chapter	Chapter: Primary English: Story Writing
Level P5

02　Questions (10 items)

FoundationChange to the past tense: They eat lunch in the park.
FoundationPunctuate the dialogue: Where are you going asked Tom.
FoundationFill in the past tense: At last, the boy ___ (find) his lost dog.
FoundationFill in the past tense of “see”: Yesterday I ___ a rainbow.
IntermediateWhich is the better story opening? (A) It was a normal day. (B) The day the river turned red, Mia was still asleep.
IntermediateJoin with when: We were having dinner. The lights went out.
IntermediateFill in the past continuous: At 8 p.m. last night, Ken ___ (do) his homework.
ChallengeRewrite with one concrete detail instead of very: The room was very messy.
ChallengeFill in: We packed our bags ___ we left the hotel.
Error redoCorrect the sentence: Suddenly, the door opens and a stranger walks in.

03　Answers and one-line notes

#	Answer	One-line note
1	They ate lunch in the park.	Eat has the irregular past form ate.
2	“Where are you going?” asked Tom.	The question mark stays inside the quotation marks.
3	found	Find has the irregular past form found.
4	saw	See has the irregular past form saw.
5	(B)	A concrete opening with a hint of trouble beats a vague normal day.
6	We were having dinner when the lights went out.	When introduces the sudden event after a past continuous clause.
7	was doing	An action in progress at a past moment takes was or were plus ing.
8	Clothes covered the floor and books were piled on the bed.	Concrete detail replaces a vague very plus adjective.
9	before	Order matters: the bags are packed before leaving the hotel.
10	Suddenly, the door opened and a stranger walked in.	The narrative stays in the past, so opens and walks become opened and walked.

04　What to do after marking

After marking, redo only the wrong items and write down which step went wrong (formula, unit, or misread number).
Repeat the same item two days later; move to the next paper only when both attempts are correct.
Parents only need the answer and note columns; there is no need to explain every item.

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