7th grade the dash and the ellipsis worksheets

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A dash marks an abrupt break in a sentence or sets off a list or phrase that renames what came before it. An ellipsis, three spaced dots, shows that speech or a quotation trailed off or that words were left out. Seventh graders rewrite each sentence with the mark it needs in the right place.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.8.2.a.

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The kind of sentences you'll fix

Rewrite each sentence with a dash or an ellipsis where it belongs.

  1. Our guide paused and said, “The flood took the mill, the bridge, and” before checking her notes.

    Fixed: Our guide paused and said, “The flood took the mill, the bridge, and…” before checking her notes.

  2. Imani started to say, “If the goalie had stayed on her” and gave up.
  3. The team packed three things towels, water bottles, and spare socks.

Every print pulls a new set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on a 7th grade sheet

7th grade sheets draw from 41 sentences, 8 to a page. None of these sentences are on 8th grade sheets. 8th grade sheets print 7 to a page.

A few of the sentences, as the answer key corrects them:

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

The two marks solve different problems, so sort by problem rather than by mark. If the sentence changes direction or stops short, the writer wants a dash. If someone stopped talking, or a quotation is missing a piece, the writer wants an ellipsis. Reading the sentence aloud settles nearly every item, because a dash is a hard stop and an ellipsis is a fade. Writing the whole sentence out is the point here: a student who only circles the right mark never has to decide where it sits.

Watch for: A dash is not a comma with attitude. Use it when the break is abrupt or when a list with its own commas needs setting off; a plain aside still takes commas. An ellipsis is three dots and no more. Four dots appear only when a full sentence ends before the omission. Neither mark is a substitute for a period. A sentence that trails off still needs a closing quotation mark, and a sentence with a dash still needs an end mark.

Common questions about 7th grade the dash and the ellipsis

When is a dash better than a comma?
When the break is sharp, or when the part you are setting off already contains commas. Three players missed the bus — Darius, Imani, and Omar. Commas alone would blur into the list.
How do I write an ellipsis by hand?
Three dots, evenly spaced, with a space before them. If a complete sentence ends first, the period comes before the three dots.
Does CCSS cover these marks?
L.8.2.a names the comma, the dash, and the ellipsis for marking a pause or a break, and L.8.2.b names the ellipsis for an omission. Most seventh grade programs teach them a year early, which is why this page sits at seventh grade.

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Aligned to Common Core L.8.2.a. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated September 2026.

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