Spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPAG) is a big part of 11+ testing. Below, you will find some sample 11+ SPAG questions. Have a good and see how you do. If you want to access more, I offer a comprehensive 11+ SPAG training course which you will find in the member’s section (coming soon). If you need any extra help with grammar, be sure to get in touch and we will be delighted to help.

The statements below contain either one spelling error or no error. Decide whether you think the spelling error is in A, B, C, or D. If there is no mistake, mark ‘N’.

  1. "The eccentric profesor | gave an excellent | lecture about | ancient history."

    A B C D N

  2. "The receptionist hesitated | breifly before | answering the | difficult question."

    A B C D N

  3. "Gleaming and sparkling | in the bright, autumn | sunshine stood the king’s palace."

    A B C D N

  4. "Several countries | reluctantly signed | the important international | aggreement."

    A B C D N

  5. "The talented | youngster exhibited | great potential | as a musician."

    A B C D N

  6. "The clothing buisness | was extremely | successful | this quarter."

    A B C D N

  7. "Our neighbour's | garden looks | particularly | beutiful in summer"
    A B C D N

  8. "The government | announced their | descision | yesterday morning."

    A B C D N

  9. "The children | were thoroughly | enjoying their | oversees holiday adventure."

    A B C D N

  10. "Most college students | find advanced mathematics | challenging but | intresting."

    A B C D N

    1. Error in A ("profesor" should be "professor")

    2. Error in B ("brefly" should be "briefly")

    3. No error (N is correct answer)

    4. Error in D ("aggreement" should be "agreement")

    5. No error (N is correct answer)

    6. Error in A ("buisness" should be "business")

    7. Error in D ("beutiful" should be "beautiful")

    8. Error in C ("descision" should be "decision")

    9. Error in D (“oversees” should be “overseas”)

    10. Error in D ("intresting" should be "interesting")

In this exercise there are some mistakes in the use of capital letters and punctuation. On each numbered line, there is either one mistake or no mistake. Find the group of words with the mistake in it. If there is no mistake, mark ‘N’.

  1. My brother John, | who lives in Wales | visited us | last weekend.

    A B C D N

  2. The items we need: are | bread, milk | cheese, and eggs | for the recipe.

    A B C D N

  3. When the rain stops, | well go to the park | and either go swimming | or play tennis.

    A B C D N

  4. The Dutch museum contains | paintings sculptures | and historical | artefacts.

    A B C D N

  5. While Jack’s father was | at work, his mother was taking | the pet dog for | it’s afternoon walk.

    A B C D N

  6. “Today is a lovely day”, said Ben. | “I know”, said Ben’s | aunt. “Why don’t you | go and play outside.”

    A B C D N

  7. “You should arrive | early because the | theatre gets crowded particularly | at weekends.”

    A B C D N

  8. The old book, | which was valuable, | belonged to | my grandfathers collection."

    A B C D N

  9. "The chef prepared | several dishes: | pasta, soup, | and salad."

    A B C D N

  10. "The teacher said, | "Please sit down | and open your | textbooks now"

    A B C D N

    1. B. Comma needed after “Wales”.

    2. A. Colon should be placed after “are” not after “need”.

    3. B. Apostrophe needed “we’ll”.

    4. B. Comma needed after “paintings”.

    5. D. “its” should not have an apostrophe.

    6. D. Question mark needed at the end of the sentence.

    7. C. Comma or dash needed between “crowded” and “particularly”.

    8. D. Apostrophe needed in “grandfather’s”.

    9. N.

    10. D. Full stop needed at the end of the sentence.

In this exercise, you have to choose the best word, or group of words, to complete each numbered line so that the passage makes sense and is written in correct English.

  1. "You [must] [should] [can] [may] [might] be joking - that's impossible!"

  2. "By next month, she [has completed] [will have completed] [will complete] [completes] [completed] her thesis."

  3. "This problem is [more difficult] [difficulter] [more difficulter] [most difficult] [the most difficult] than I expected."

  4. "You're coming to the party, [aren't you] [don't you] [isn't it] [won't you] [didn't you]?"

  5. "She plays [a] [an] [the] [-] [some] violin in the orchestra."

  6. "The person [who] [which] [what] [that] [whom] lives next door is a doctor."

  7. "We arrived [in] [at] [on] [to] [by] Paris late last night."

  8. "I wish I [know] [knew] [had known] [would know] [have known] the answer yesterday."

  9. "[Few] [Little] [Many] [Much] [Several] sugar is left in the bowl."

  10. "Neither of the students [have] [has] [having] [had] [were] completed the assignment."

  11. "The novel [wrote] [was written] [had written] [has written] [had been written] by a famous author."

  12. "She suggested [going] [to go] [go] [goes] [went] to the cinema."

  13. "If I [would be] [were] [am] [was] [had been] rich, I would buy a yacht."

  14. "The children [quickly ate] [ate quickly] [did quickly eat] [ate quick] [quick ate] their lunch."

  15. "He said he [will come] [would come] [comes] [came] [is coming] tomorrow."

    1. must

    2. will have completed

    3. more difficult

    4. aren't you

    5. the

    6. who

    7. in

    8. had known

    9. Little

    10. has

    11. was written

    12. going

    13. were

    14. ate quickly

    15. would come