Year 1

Word

Regular plural noun suffixes –s or –es [for example, dog, dogs; wish, wishes], including the effects of these suffixes on the meaning of the noun

Suffixes that can be added to verbs where no change is needed in the spelling of root words (e.g. helping, helped, helper)

How the prefix un– changes the meaning of verbs and adjectives [negation, for example, unkind, or undoing: untie the boat]

Sentence

How words can combine to make sentences

Joining words and joining clauses using and

Text

Sequencing sentences to form short narratives

Punctuation

Separation of words with spaces

Introduction to capital letters, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks to demarcate sentences

Capital letters for names and for the personal pronoun I

Terminology

letter, capital letter

word, singular, plural

sentence

punctuation, full stop, question mark, exclamation mark

Year 2

Word

Formation of nouns using suffixes such as –ness, –er and by compounding [for example, whiteboard, superman]

Formation of adjectives using suffixes such as –ful, –less

(A fuller list of suffixes can be found in the year 2 spelling section in English Appendix 1)

Use of the suffixes –er, –est in adjectives and the use of –ly in Standard English to turn adjectives into adverbs

Sentence

Subordination (using when, if, that, because) and co-ordination (using or, and, but)

Expanded noun phrases for description and specification [for example, the blue butterfly, plain flour, the man in the moon]

How the grammatical patterns in a sentence indicate its function as a statement, question, exclamation or command

Text

Correct choice and consistent use of present tense and past tense throughout writing

Use of the progressive form of verbs in the present and past tense to mark actions in progress [for example, she is drumming, he was shouting]

Punctuation

Use of capital letters, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks to demarcate sentences

Commas to separate items in a list

Apostrophes to mark where letters are missing in spelling and to mark singular possession in nouns [for example, the girl’s name]

Terminology

noun, noun phrase

statement, question, exclamation, command

compound, suffix

adjective, adverb, verb

tense (past, present)

apostrophe, comma

Year 3

Word

Formation of nouns using a range of prefixes [for example super–, anti–, auto–]

Use of the forms a or an according to whether the next word begins with a consonant or a vowel [for example, a rock, an open box]

Word families based on common words, showing how words are related in form and meaning [for example, solve, solution, solver, dissolve, insoluble]

Sentence

Expressing time, place and cause using conjunctions [for example, when, before, after, while, so, because], adverbs [for example, then, next, soon, therefore], or prepositions [for example, before, after, during, in, because of]

Text

Introduction to paragraphs as a way to group related material

Headings and sub-headings to aid presentation

Use of the present perfect form of verbs instead of the simple past [for example, He has gone out to play contrasted with He went out to play]

Punctuation

Introduction to inverted commas to punctuate direct speech

Terminology

preposition, conjunction

word family, prefix

clause, subordinate clause

direct speech

consonant, consonant letter vowel, vowel letter

inverted commas (or ‘speech marks’)

Year 4

Word

The grammatical difference between plural and possessive –s

Standard English forms for verb inflections instead of local spoken forms [for example, we were instead of we was, or I did instead of I done]

Sentence

Noun phrases expanded by the addition of modifying adjectives, nouns and preposition phrases (e.g. the teacher expanded to: the strict maths teacher with curly hair)

Fronted adverbials [for example, Later that day, I heard the bad news.]

Text

Use of paragraphs to organise ideas around a theme

Appropriate choice of pronoun or noun within and across sentences to aid cohesion and avoid repetition

Punctuation

Use of inverted commas and other punctuation to indicate direct speech [for example, a comma after the reporting clause; end punctuation within inverted commas: The conductor shouted, “Sit down!”]

Apostrophes to mark plural possession [for example, the girl’s name, the girls’ names]

Use of commas after fronted adverbials

Terminology

determiner

pronoun, possessive pronoun

adverbial

Year 5

Word

Converting nouns or adjectives into verbs using suffixes [for example, –ate; –ise; –ify]

Verb prefixes [for example, dis–, de–, mis–, over– and re–]

Sentence

Relative clauses beginning with who, which, where, when, whose, that, or an omitted relative pronoun

Indicating degrees of possibility using adverbs [for example, perhaps, surely] or modal verbs [for example, might, should, will, must]

Text

Devices to build cohesion within a paragraph [for example, then, after that, this, firstly]

Linking ideas across paragraphs using adverbials of time [for example, later], place [for example, nearby] and number [for example, secondly] or tense choices [for example, he had seen her before]

Punctuation

Brackets, dashes or commas to indicate parenthesis

Use of commas to clarify meaning or avoid ambiguity

Terminology

modal verb, relative pronoun

relative clause

parenthesis, bracket, dash

cohesion, ambiguity

Year 6

Word

The difference between vocabulary typical of informal speech and vocabulary appropriate for formal speech and writing [for example, find out – discover; ask for – request; go in – enter]

How words are related by meaning as synonyms and antonyms [for example, big, large, little].

Sentence

Use of the passive to affect the presentation of information in a sentence [for example, I broke the window in the greenhouse versus The window in the greenhouse was broken (by me)].

The difference between structures typical of informal speech and structures appropriate for formal speech and writing [for example, the use of question tags: He’s your friend, isn’t he?, or the use of subjunctive forms such as If I were or Were they to come in some very formal writing and speech]

Text

Linking ideas across paragraphs using a wider range of cohesive devices: repetition of a word or phrase, grammatical connections [for example, the use of adverbials such as on the other hand, in contrast, or as a consequence], and ellipsis

Layout devices [for example, headings, sub-headings, columns, bullets, or tables, to structure text]

Punctuation

Use of the semi-colon, colon and dash to mark the boundary between independent clauses [for example, It’s raining; I’m fed up]

Use of the colon to introduce a list and use of semi-colons within lists

Punctuation of bullet points to list information

How hyphens can be used to avoid ambiguity [for example, man eating shark versus man-eating shark, or recover versus re-cover]

Terminology

subject, object

active, passive

synonym, antonym

ellipsis, hyphen, colon, semi-colon, bullet points