Year 3 English: Inverted commas for spoken words
Part of the Year 3 English punctuation chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Inverted commas for spoken words
When we write the exact words that someone says, we use direct speech. The spoken words go inside inverted commas, which are also called speech marks.
Put one mark before the first spoken word and one mark after the last spoken word. If the spoken words start a sentence, the first word has a capital letter.
The words that tell us who is speaking, such as said Mia, are the reporting clause. They stay outside the inverted commas.
| Part of the sentence | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| spoken words | the exact words, inside the inverted commas | "Hello" |
| reporting clause | who speaks, outside the inverted commas | said Mia |
| end mark | comma, question mark or exclamation mark, inside the closing inverted commas | "Hello," or "Hi!" |
Key ideas
- Inverted commas (speech marks) go round the exact words that are spoken.
- If the spoken words start a sentence, the first word has a capital letter.
- The reporting clause tells who spoke, and it sits outside the inverted commas.
- The comma, question mark or exclamation mark goes inside the closing inverted commas.
Method. Put the spoken words in inverted commas, then the reporting clause after them.
- Find the spoken words. These are the words that are said. They go inside the inverted commas."Hello"
- Put the end mark inside the closing inverted commas. The comma belongs to the spoken words, so it goes before the closing inverted commas."Hello,"
- Find the reporting clause. It tells us who spoke. It sits outside the inverted commas.said Mia
- Finish with a full stop. The whole sentence is a statement, so it ends with a full stop after the reporting clause."Hello," said Mia.
- Write the answer. "Hello," said Mia.
Check. Read it aloud: only the spoken words are inside the inverted commas. ✓
Watch out. The comma, question mark or exclamation mark goes inside the closing inverted commas, not after them.
Method. Write the reporting clause, a comma, then the spoken words in inverted commas.
- Find the reporting clause. It tells us who speaks, and it comes first.Dad says
- Put a comma after the reporting clause. A comma separates the reporting clause from the spoken words.Dad says,
- Put inverted commas round the spoken words. The opening inverted commas come before the first spoken word."Time for tea."
- Keep the end mark inside. The full stop goes inside the closing inverted commas, so no full stop comes after them.Dad says, "Time for tea."
- Write the answer. Dad says, "Time for tea."
Check. Read it aloud: only the spoken words are inside the inverted commas. ✓
Watch out. Do not add a full stop after the closing inverted commas when the end mark is already inside them.
Method. Look at the words inside the inverted commas.
- Find the inverted commas. The words inside them are the spoken words."Look out!" shouted Ben.
- Leave out the reporting clause and the marks. shouted Ben tells who spoke, so it is not part of the speech.Look out
- Write the answer. Look out
Check. The reporting clause (shouted Ben) is outside the inverted commas. ✓
Watch out. Do not include the reporting clause or the marks in your answer.
Watch out
Watch out: the inverted commas go round only the spoken words. In "Hello," said Mia. the words said Mia are outside the marks. Do not put the reporting clause inside them.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Read the sentence aloud. Ask your child: who is speaking? The reporting clause (who spoke) stays outside the marks. The words the speaker says go inside.
Exercise 5A Practice: inverted commas for spoken words
Method. Look at the words inside the inverted commas.
- Find the inverted commas. The words inside them are the spoken words."Good morning," said Ruby.
- Leave out the reporting clause and the marks. said Ruby tells who spoke, so it is not part of the speech.Good morning
- Write the answer. Good morning
Check. The reporting clause (said Ruby) is outside the inverted commas. ✓
Watch out. Do not include the reporting clause or the marks in your answer.
Method. Look at the words inside the inverted commas.
- Find the inverted commas. The words inside them are the spoken words.Ali asks, "Can we play now?"
- Leave out the reporting clause and the marks. Ali asks tells who spoke, so it is not part of the speech.Can we play now
- Write the answer. Can we play now
Check. The reporting clause (Ali asks) is outside the inverted commas. ✓
Watch out. Do not include the reporting clause or the marks in your answer.
Method. Find the words outside the inverted commas that tell who spoke.
- Find the spoken words. They are inside the inverted commas."I found a shell"
- Find the words outside the marks. The reporting clause tells who spoke.said Leo
- Write the answer. said Leo
Check. said Leo is outside the inverted commas. ✓
Watch out. The reporting clause is not part of the speech.
Method. The marks show the exact words that are said.
- Find the spoken words. These are the exact words that are said.the words someone says
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who spoke, and it stays outside the marks.said Mia
- Choose the answer. The inverted commas go round the spoken words.round the spoken words
- Write the answer. round the spoken words
Check. The marks never go round the reporting clause. ✓
Watch out. The reporting clause is the part that tells who spoke.
Method. These marks have two names.
- Look at the marks. They go round the exact words that are spoken." "
- Write both names. They are called inverted commas or speech marks.inverted commas, speech marks
- Write the answer. inverted commas (speech marks)
Check. Both names are correct. ✓
Watch out. The National Curriculum uses the name inverted commas. Speech marks is another name for the same marks.
Method. Put the spoken words in inverted commas, then the reporting clause after them.
- Find the spoken words. These are the words that are said. They go inside the inverted commas."We will win"
- Put the end mark inside the closing inverted commas. The comma belongs to the spoken words, so it goes before the closing inverted commas."We will win,"
- Find the reporting clause. It tells us who spoke. It sits outside the inverted commas.said the coach
- Finish with a full stop. The whole sentence is a statement, so it ends with a full stop after the reporting clause."We will win," said the coach.
- Write the answer. "We will win," said the coach.
Check. Read it aloud: only the spoken words are inside the inverted commas. ✓
Watch out. The comma, question mark or exclamation mark goes inside the closing inverted commas, not after them.
Method. Write the reporting clause, a comma, then the spoken words in inverted commas.
- Find the reporting clause. It tells us who speaks, and it comes first.Ruby whispers
- Put a comma after the reporting clause. A comma separates the reporting clause from the spoken words.Ruby whispers,
- Put inverted commas round the spoken words. The opening inverted commas come before the first spoken word."The cat is asleep."
- Keep the end mark inside. The full stop goes inside the closing inverted commas, so no full stop comes after them.Ruby whispers, "The cat is asleep."
- Write the answer. Ruby whispers, "The cat is asleep."
Check. Read it aloud: only the spoken words are inside the inverted commas. ✓
Watch out. Do not add a full stop after the closing inverted commas when the end mark is already inside them.
Method. Write the reporting clause, a comma, then the spoken words in inverted commas.
- Find the reporting clause. It tells us who speaks, and it comes first.Ali says
- Put a comma after the reporting clause. A comma separates the reporting clause from the spoken words.Ali says,
- Put inverted commas round the spoken words. The opening inverted commas come before the first spoken word."Thank you."
- Keep the end mark inside. The full stop goes inside the closing inverted commas, so no full stop comes after them.Ali says, "Thank you."
- Write the answer. Ali says, "Thank you."
Check. Read it aloud: only the spoken words are inside the inverted commas. ✓
Watch out. Do not add a full stop after the closing inverted commas when the end mark is already inside them.
Method. Check the first word of the spoken words.
- Look at the spoken words. Come with me starts a sentence, so it needs a capital letter.come becomes Come
- Write the correct sentence. Only the first letter changes.Mia says, "Come with me."
- Write the answer. No. The spoken words start a sentence, so they need a capital letter: Mia says, "Come with me."
Check. Read it aloud with a capital C. ✓
Watch out. Also accept: No, the first letter of the speech needs a capital letter.
Method. Look at the end of the spoken words.
- Look at the spoken words. Hello is followed by the reporting clause, so a comma goes inside the marks."Hello"
- Add the comma inside the marks. The comma goes before the closing inverted commas."Hello," said Sam.
- Write the answer. No. A comma goes inside the closing inverted commas: "Hello," said Sam.
Check. Read it aloud: "Hello," said Sam. ✓
Watch out. Also accept: No, Hello needs a comma inside the closing inverted commas.