Determiners Worksheet: Year 6 SATs SPaG

Year 6 SATs SPaG worksheet on determiners: 20 questions in the style of the SATs, with answers. Free PDF.

3-page A4 PDF from the Tiger Shark Education question bank (Word classes): two pages of questions (circle or underline) and an answer page. Example questions: Circle the two determiners. The king gave his assent. / Circle the determiner. A cold draught blew in.

What is a determiner? A determiner comes before a noun (and any adjectives) to specify which or how many: the, a, an, this, those, my, their, some, every, three. Articles (a, an, the) are the most common determiners. Possessive determiners (my, your, his) and numbers also count. In the SATs, children identify determiners and choose between a and an.

Common mistakes and tips: Children often label determiners as adjectives because they come before a noun. Others forget that numbers and possessive words are determiners too. ‘A’ or ‘an’ depends on the sound, not the letter: an hour, a unicorn. Ask pupils whether the word specifies which noun or how many, rather than describing it.

Quick example to try: give pupils the sentence ‘Those three old books on my shelf belong to her’ and ask them to circle every determiner (those, three, my). Then ask why ‘old’ is not one: it describes the books rather than specifying which or how many.

Questions on this topic appear often in the SATs. The skill also counts in teacher assessment of writing at the end of Year 6, so children benefit from both practice in test style and from using it in their own writing.

Ways to use this worksheet: as a lesson starter or plenary, as a quick assessment before teaching a topic, for intervention groups, or as SATs revision homework. The answer page lets children self-mark. After marking, ask pupils to write two of their own sentences using the skill, so they apply it rather than just recognise it.

Using the correct terminology: the SATs use the terms in the National Curriculum glossary, and children need to recognise them quickly. Display the key term for this topic with a clear definition and an example, and use it consistently in lessons and feedback. When children explain their answers, encourage them to use the term in a full sentence. Short, regular retrieval practice, such as a two-minute quiz on terms from previous weeks, keeps knowledge fresh across the year. Because grammar topics build on one another, gaps from earlier years cause difficulties later, so this sheet is also useful for checking that Year 6 pupils have secure foundations from Years 3 to 5.