Language Features in the National Curriculum
Here's everything your class needs to be able to do according to the new English National Curriculum. Although this doesn't become statutory until 2014, it gives a good idea of what children might be expected to learn in different year groups. To see these as objectives you can pop straight into your Shakespeare and More planning, have a look at our Language Features for Planning section.
Language Features in the National Curriculum (by Year Group):
Year 1:
Joining words and joining sentences using and
How the prefix un– changes the meaning of verbs and adjectives (negation, e.g. unkind, or undoing, e.g. untie the boat)
Regular plural noun suffixes –s or –es (e.g. dog, dogs; wish, wishes)
Suffixes that can be added to verbs (e.g. helping, helped, helper)
How words can combine to make sentences
Sequencing sentences to form short narratives
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
Year 2:
Formation of nouns using suffixes such as –ness, –er
Formation of adjectives using suffixes such as –ful, –less (A fuller list of suffixes can be found in the Year 2 spelling appendix.)
Use of the suffixes –er and –est to form comparisons of adjectives and adverbs
Subordination (using when, if, that, or because) and co- ordination (using or, and, or but)
Expanded noun phrases for description and specification (e.g. the blue butterfly, plain flour, the man in the moon)
Sentences with different forms: statement, question, exclamation, command
Correct choice and consistent use of present tense and past tense throughout writing
Use of the continuous form of verbs in the present and past tense to mark actions in progress (e.g. she is drumming, he was shouting)
Use of capital letters, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks to demarcate sentences
Commas to separate items in a list
Apostrophes to mark contracted forms in spelling
Year 3:
Formation of nouns using a range of prefixes, such as super–, anti–, auto–
Use of the determiners a or an according to whether the next word begins with a consonant or a vowel (e.g. a rock, an open box)
Word families based on common words
Expressing time and cause using conjunctions (e.g. when, so, before, after, while, because), adverbs (e.g. then, next, soon, therefore, or prepositions (e.g. before, after, during, in, because of)
Introduction to paragraphs as a way to group related material
Headings and sub-headings to aid presentation
Use of the perfect form of verbs to mark relationships of time and cause (e.g. I have written it down so we can check what he said.)
Introduction to inverted commas to punctuate direct speech
Year 4:
The grammatical difference between plural and possessive -s
Standard English forms for verb inflections instead of local spoken forms (e.g. we were instead of we was, or I did instead of I done)
Appropriate choice of pronoun or noun within a sentence to avoid ambiguity and repetition
Fronted adverbials (e.g. Later that day, I heard the bad news.)
Use of paragraphs to organise ideas around a theme
Appropriate choice of pronoun or noun across sentences to aid cohesion and avoid repetition
Use of inverted commas to punctuate direct speech
Apostrophes to mark singular and plural possession (e.g. the girl’s name, the boys’ boots)
Use of commas after fronted adverbials
Year 5:
Converting nouns or adjectives into verbs using suffixes (e.g. –ate; –ise; –ify)
Verb prefixes (e.g. dis–, de–, mis–, over– and re–)
Relative clauses beginning with who, which, where, why, whose, that, or an omitted relative pronoun
Indicating degrees of possibility using modal verbs (e.g. might, should, will, must) or adverbs (e.g. perhaps, surely)
Devices to build cohesion within a paragraph (e.g. then, after that, this, firstly)
Linking ideas across paragraphs using adverbials of time (e.g. later), place (e.g. nearby) and number (e.g. secondly)
Brackets, dashes or commas to indicate parenthesis
Use of commas to clarify meaning or avoid ambiguity
Year 6:
The difference between vocabulary typical of informal speech and vocabulary appropriate for formal speech and writing (e.g. said versus reported, alleged, or claimed in formal speech or writing)
Use of the passive voice to affect the presentation of information in a sentence (e.g. I broke the window in the greenhouse versus The window in the greenhouse was broken)
Expanded noun phrases to convey complicated information concisely (e.g. the boy that jumped over the fence is over there, or the fact that it was raining meant the end of sports day)
The difference between structures typical of informal speech and structures appropriate for formal speech and writing (such as the use of question tags, e.g. He’s your friend, isn’t he?, or the use of the subjunctive in some very formal writing and speech)
Linking ideas across paragraphs using a wider range of cohesive devices: semantic cohesion (e.g. repetition of a word or phrase), grammatical connections (e.g. the use of adverbials such as on the other hand, in contrast, or as a consequence), and ellipsis
Layout devices, such as headings, sub-headings, columns, bullets, or tables, to structure text
Use of the semi-colon, colon and dash to mark the boundary between independent clauses (e.g. It’s raining; I’m fed up.)
Use of the colon to introduce a list
Punctuation of bullet points to list information
How hyphens can be used to avoid ambiguity (e.g. man eating shark versus man- eating shark, or recover versus re-cover)
Grammar and Punctuation Top Tips
Language Features in the Curriculum
Language Features for Planning
Language Features in the National Curriculum (by Year Group):
Year 1:
Joining words and joining sentences using and
How the prefix un– changes the meaning of verbs and adjectives (negation, e.g. unkind, or undoing, e.g. untie the boat)
Regular plural noun suffixes –s or –es (e.g. dog, dogs; wish, wishes)
Suffixes that can be added to verbs (e.g. helping, helped, helper)
How words can combine to make sentences
Sequencing sentences to form short narratives
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
Year 2:
Formation of nouns using suffixes such as –ness, –er
Formation of adjectives using suffixes such as –ful, –less (A fuller list of suffixes can be found in the Year 2 spelling appendix.)
Use of the suffixes –er and –est to form comparisons of adjectives and adverbs
Subordination (using when, if, that, or because) and co- ordination (using or, and, or but)
Expanded noun phrases for description and specification (e.g. the blue butterfly, plain flour, the man in the moon)
Sentences with different forms: statement, question, exclamation, command
Correct choice and consistent use of present tense and past tense throughout writing
Use of the continuous form of verbs in the present and past tense to mark actions in progress (e.g. she is drumming, he was shouting)
Use of capital letters, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks to demarcate sentences
Commas to separate items in a list
Apostrophes to mark contracted forms in spelling
Year 3:
Formation of nouns using a range of prefixes, such as super–, anti–, auto–
Use of the determiners a or an according to whether the next word begins with a consonant or a vowel (e.g. a rock, an open box)
Word families based on common words
Expressing time and cause using conjunctions (e.g. when, so, before, after, while, because), adverbs (e.g. then, next, soon, therefore, or prepositions (e.g. before, after, during, in, because of)
Introduction to paragraphs as a way to group related material
Headings and sub-headings to aid presentation
Use of the perfect form of verbs to mark relationships of time and cause (e.g. I have written it down so we can check what he said.)
Introduction to inverted commas to punctuate direct speech
Year 4:
The grammatical difference between plural and possessive -s
Standard English forms for verb inflections instead of local spoken forms (e.g. we were instead of we was, or I did instead of I done)
Appropriate choice of pronoun or noun within a sentence to avoid ambiguity and repetition
Fronted adverbials (e.g. Later that day, I heard the bad news.)
Use of paragraphs to organise ideas around a theme
Appropriate choice of pronoun or noun across sentences to aid cohesion and avoid repetition
Use of inverted commas to punctuate direct speech
Apostrophes to mark singular and plural possession (e.g. the girl’s name, the boys’ boots)
Use of commas after fronted adverbials
Year 5:
Converting nouns or adjectives into verbs using suffixes (e.g. –ate; –ise; –ify)
Verb prefixes (e.g. dis–, de–, mis–, over– and re–)
Relative clauses beginning with who, which, where, why, whose, that, or an omitted relative pronoun
Indicating degrees of possibility using modal verbs (e.g. might, should, will, must) or adverbs (e.g. perhaps, surely)
Devices to build cohesion within a paragraph (e.g. then, after that, this, firstly)
Linking ideas across paragraphs using adverbials of time (e.g. later), place (e.g. nearby) and number (e.g. secondly)
Brackets, dashes or commas to indicate parenthesis
Use of commas to clarify meaning or avoid ambiguity
Year 6:
The difference between vocabulary typical of informal speech and vocabulary appropriate for formal speech and writing (e.g. said versus reported, alleged, or claimed in formal speech or writing)
Use of the passive voice to affect the presentation of information in a sentence (e.g. I broke the window in the greenhouse versus The window in the greenhouse was broken)
Expanded noun phrases to convey complicated information concisely (e.g. the boy that jumped over the fence is over there, or the fact that it was raining meant the end of sports day)
The difference between structures typical of informal speech and structures appropriate for formal speech and writing (such as the use of question tags, e.g. He’s your friend, isn’t he?, or the use of the subjunctive in some very formal writing and speech)
Linking ideas across paragraphs using a wider range of cohesive devices: semantic cohesion (e.g. repetition of a word or phrase), grammatical connections (e.g. the use of adverbials such as on the other hand, in contrast, or as a consequence), and ellipsis
Layout devices, such as headings, sub-headings, columns, bullets, or tables, to structure text
Use of the semi-colon, colon and dash to mark the boundary between independent clauses (e.g. It’s raining; I’m fed up.)
Use of the colon to introduce a list
Punctuation of bullet points to list information
How hyphens can be used to avoid ambiguity (e.g. man eating shark versus man- eating shark, or recover versus re-cover)
Grammar and Punctuation Top Tips
Language Features in the Curriculum
Language Features for Planning
