Grammar Riddles: 30 Riddles About Words and Punctuation

Teacher, park and pencil are all examples of me. I name a person, a place or a thing. What part of speech am I?

In the sentence “The dog runs,” I’m the word “runs.” I show the action. What part of speech am I?

In “the fluffy cat,” I’m the word “fluffy.” I tell you what something is like. What part of speech am I?

I’m just a tiny dot, but every telling sentence needs me at the very end. What am I?

I’m a curly hook with a dot underneath. I show up at the end of every sentence that asks something. What am I?

Every sentence starts with me, and so does your name. I’m the big version of a letter. What am I?

One mouse squeaks in the kitchen. When three of us squeak together, what are we called?

I sound exactly like the big salty ocean, but I’m what your eyes do. Which word am I?

I’m a straight line with a dot underneath. Put me after “Wow” or “Watch out” to show that someone is excited or shouting. What am I?

I’m a short line that glues words together, like in “well-known,” “mother-in-law” and “twenty-one.” What punctuation mark am I?

In “She sang loudly,” I’m the word “loudly.” I tell you how something was done, and I often end in -ly. What part of speech am I?

I stand in for a noun so you don’t have to repeat it. Instead of “Maya lost Maya’s hat,” you can say “She lost her hat.” What part of speech am I?

I look like a comma that floated up high. I show that something belongs to someone (Sam’s bike) and where letters are missing. What am I?

Squeeze “do not” into one word with an apostrophe. What contraction do you get?

You stand on one of me, but you walk on two of me. I don’t add -s; I swap my vowels instead. What is my plural?

Three words sound exactly alike: there, their and they’re. Which one fills the gap: “___ going to the park after lunch”?

I’m a joining word. I link “I wanted cake” and “I ate an apple” into one sentence. “And,” “but” and “or” are on my team. What part of speech am I?

In “The cat is under the table,” I’m the word “under.” I show where something is. What part of speech am I?

Join the bright thing in the sky with a word for a bloom, and you get me: a tall plant with a big yellow face. What word am I?

I always come in pairs, and I hug the exact words someone said: “Let’s go!” What am I?

Read these two sentences: “Let’s eat, Grandma!” and “Let’s eat Grandma!” Which punctuation mark saves Grandma?

I burst out to show a feeling, like “Ouch!”, “Hooray!” or “Oops!” I’m often followed by an exclamation point. What part of speech am I?

Fill both blanks with words that sound exactly the same: “I ate ___ cookies, and my sister ate some ___.”

Today I swim. Yesterday I . This week I have every day. Which two words fill the blanks?

As a noun, I’m on your wrist and I tell the time. As a verb, I mean to look at something carefully. What word am I?

One tooth, two teeth. One goose, two geese. So one moose, two… what?

“Close the door.” “Wash your hands.” “Sit down.” What kind of sentence gives a command like these?

Is it correct to say “The yolk of the egg are white” or “The yolk of the egg is white”?

In “The tiny puppy chased the red ball,” which word is the subject: the one doing the action?

I’m the past tense of “win,” but I sound exactly like the first number you count. What word am I?