Year 4 English: Inverted commas and the spoken words
Part of the Year 4 English direct speech chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Inverted commas and the spoken words
Direct speech shows the exact words that someone says. The spoken words go inside inverted commas, which are also called speech marks: "Hello".
The words that tell us who is speaking, such as said Mia, are the reporting clause. They stay outside the inverted commas.
If the spoken words start a sentence, the first word of the speech has a capital letter.
| Part of the sentence | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| spoken words | the exact words, inside the inverted commas | "Hello," said Mia. |
| reporting clause | who speaks, outside the inverted commas | said Mia |
| end mark | comma, question mark or exclamation mark, inside the closing inverted commas | "Hello!" said Mia. |
Key ideas
- Inverted commas (also called speech marks) go round the exact words that are spoken.
- The reporting clause tells who spoke, and it stays outside the inverted commas.
- If the spoken words start a sentence, the first word of the speech has a capital letter.
- The comma, question mark or exclamation mark goes inside the closing inverted commas.
Method. Put the spoken words in inverted commas, then add the reporting clause after them.
- Find the spoken words. These are the exact words that are said. They go inside the inverted commas."Good morning"
- Put the end mark inside the closing inverted commas. The comma belongs to the spoken words, so it goes before the closing inverted commas."Good morning,"
- Add the reporting clause. It tells who spoke. It sits outside the inverted commas, after the speech.said Zainab
- Finish with a full stop. The sentence ends with a full stop after the reporting clause."Good morning," said Zainab.
- Write the answer. "Good morning," said Zainab.
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, never after them.
Method. Write the reporting clause, a comma, then the spoken words in inverted commas.
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who speaks, and it comes first.Kofi calls
- Put a comma after the reporting clause. A comma separates the reporting clause from the spoken words.Kofi calls,
- Put inverted commas round the spoken words. The first spoken word has a capital letter, and the end mark goes inside the closing inverted commas.Kofi calls, "Time for tea."
- Write the answer. Kofi calls, "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. Put the spoken words in inverted commas, then add the reporting clause after them.
- Find the spoken words. These are the exact words that are said. They go inside the inverted commas."Where is my hat"
- Put the end mark inside the closing inverted commas. The question mark belongs to the spoken words, so it goes before the closing inverted commas."Where is my hat?"
- Add the reporting clause. It tells who spoke. It sits outside the inverted commas, after the speech.asked Fatima
- Finish with a full stop. The sentence ends with a full stop after the reporting clause."Where is my hat?" asked Fatima.
- Write the answer. "Where is my hat?" asked Fatima.
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, never after them.
Watch out
Watch out: the inverted commas go round only the spoken words. In "Good morning," said Zainab. the words said Zainab 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, and the words the speaker says go inside.
Exercise 5A Practice: inverted commas and the spoken words
Method. Look at the words inside the inverted commas.
- Find the inverted commas. The words inside them are the spoken words."Can we go now?" asked Oliver.
- Leave out the reporting clause and the inverted commas. asked Oliver tells who spoke, so it is not part of the speech. The end mark stays inside.Can we go now?
- Write the answer. Can we go now?
Check. The reporting clause (asked Oliver) is outside the inverted commas. ✓
Watch out. Do not include the reporting clause or the inverted commas in your answer.
Method. Look at the words inside the inverted commas.
- Find the inverted commas. The words inside them are the spoken words.Ravi says, "We are going to the shop."
- Leave out the reporting clause and the inverted commas. Ravi says tells who spoke, so it is not part of the speech. The end mark stays inside.We are going to the shop.
- Write the answer. We are going to the shop.
Check. The reporting clause (Ravi says) is outside the inverted commas. ✓
Watch out. Do not include the reporting clause or the inverted commas 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."Our bus is here,"
- Find the words outside the marks. These words tell who spoke.said Priya
- Write the answer. said Priya
Check. Said Priya is outside the inverted commas. ✓
Watch out. The reporting clause is not part of the speech.
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, and they are also called speech marks.inverted commas, speech marks
- Write the answer. inverted commas or speech marks
Check. Both names are correct. ✓
Watch out. Speech marks is another name for the same marks.
Method. Name the words that sit outside the inverted commas.
- Look at said Priya. These words tell who is speaking, and they are outside the marks.said Priya
- Name them. Words that tell who is speaking are the reporting clause.reporting clause
- Write the answer. reporting clause
Check. The reporting clause tells who speaks. ✓
Watch out. The reporting clause is the part that is not spoken.
Method. Put the spoken words in inverted commas, then add the reporting clause after them.
- Find the spoken words. These are the exact words that are said. They go inside the inverted commas."The bus is late"
- Put the end mark inside the closing inverted commas. The comma belongs to the spoken words, so it goes before the closing inverted commas."The bus is late,"
- Add the reporting clause. It tells who spoke. It sits outside the inverted commas, after the speech.said Arjun
- Finish with a full stop. The sentence ends with a full stop after the reporting clause."The bus is late," said Arjun.
- Write the answer. "The bus is late," said Arjun.
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, never after them.
Method. Write the reporting clause, a comma, then the spoken words in inverted commas.
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who speaks, and it comes first.Aisha says
- Put a comma after the reporting clause. A comma separates the reporting clause from the spoken words.Aisha says,
- Put inverted commas round the spoken words. The first spoken word has a capital letter, and the end mark goes inside the closing inverted commas.Aisha says, "Take your umbrella."
- Write the answer. Aisha says, "Take your umbrella."
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. Compare the sentence with the marks it should have.
- Read the sentence. Check the inverted commas, the end marks, the reporting clause and the capital letters."the sun is hot," said Chloe.
- Find the mistake. The speech starts a sentence, so its first word needs a capital letter.the first letter changes from t to T
- Write the correct sentence. Read it aloud. The marks now match the spoken words."The sun is hot," said Chloe.
- Write the answer. No. "The sun is hot," said Chloe.
Check. Read the corrected sentence aloud. ✓
Watch out. Read the sentence aloud, and pause where the marks go.
Method. Compare the sentence with the marks it should have.
- Read the sentence. Check the inverted commas, the end marks, the reporting clause and the capital letters.Hello, said Sam.
- Find the mistake. The spoken words have no inverted commas round them, and the comma is outside the marks.add inverted commas, and put the comma inside them
- Write the correct sentence. Read it aloud. The marks now match the spoken words."Hello," said Sam.
- Write the answer. No. "Hello," said Sam.
Check. Read the corrected sentence aloud. ✓
Watch out. Read the sentence aloud, and pause where the marks go.
Method. Think about what the inverted commas show.
- Look at the marks. The inverted commas show the exact words that are spoken."We can swim today,"
- Look at said Chloe. These words tell who speaks, so they are not part of the speech.said Chloe
- Write the answer. outside, because it tells who speaks, not what is said
Check. Only the spoken words go inside the marks. ✓
Watch out. The reporting clause is never in the marks.
Method. Find the words inside the marks, and keep the mark that ends them.
- Find the marks. The words inside the inverted commas are the spoken words."Look at this," said Fatima.
- Keep the end mark. The comma comes inside the closing inverted commas, so it is part of the speech.Look at this,
- Write the answer. Look at this,
Check. The comma is inside the closing inverted commas. ✓
Watch out. The end mark belongs inside the marks.