Year 4 English: Names, questions and exclamations in speech
Part of the Year 4 English direct speech chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Names, questions and exclamations in speech
A speech can use a name to speak to someone. The name is set off with a comma inside the inverted commas: "Mia, come here."
A question in speech ends with a question mark. A loud or excited line ends with an exclamation mark. Each mark goes inside the closing inverted commas.
Choose a reporting verb that fits. Asked suits a question, and shouted suits a loud line. Verbs such as called and whispered work in the same way.
| Kind of speech | Example | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| name at the start | "Mia, come here," said Dad. | comma after the name, inside the marks |
| question with a name | Dad asked, "Zainab, where is your bag?" | question mark inside; no comma after it |
| loud line with a name | "Stop, look and listen!" shouted Dan. | exclamation mark inside; no comma after it |
Key ideas
- A name used to speak to someone is set off with a comma inside the inverted commas: "Mia, come here."
- A question in speech ends with a question mark inside the closing inverted commas.
- An exclamation in speech ends with an exclamation mark inside the closing inverted commas.
- Choose the reporting verb that fits: asked for a question, shouted for a loud line.
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."Tom, come and see this"
- Put the end mark inside the closing inverted commas. The comma belongs to the spoken words, so it goes before the closing inverted commas."Tom, come and see this,"
- Add the reporting clause. It tells who spoke. It sits outside the inverted commas, after the speech.said Mum
- Finish with a full stop. The sentence ends with a full stop after the reporting clause."Tom, come and see this," said Mum.
- Write the answer. "Tom, come and see this," said Mum.
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.Mum asked
- Put a comma after the reporting clause. A comma separates the reporting clause from the spoken words.Mum asked,
- 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.Mum asked, "Zainab, where is your bag?"
- Write the answer. Mum asked, "Zainab, where is your bag?"
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."Stop, look and listen"
- Put the end mark inside the closing inverted commas. The exclamation mark belongs to the spoken words, so it goes before the closing inverted commas."Stop, look and listen!"
- Add the reporting clause. It tells who spoke. It sits outside the inverted commas, after the speech.shouted Dan
- Finish with a full stop. The sentence ends with a full stop after the reporting clause."Stop, look and listen!" shouted Dan.
- Write the answer. "Stop, look and listen!" shouted Dan.
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 comma after the name goes inside the inverted commas: "Mia, come here," said Dad. A name with no comma, as in "Mia come here,", is not correct.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child: is the speaker talking to someone by name? If yes, a comma goes after the name, inside the marks. Then ask: is the line a question, or a loud line? Choose the mark that matches.
Exercise 5E Practice: names, questions and exclamations
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."Ali, please pass the salt"
- Put the end mark inside the closing inverted commas. The comma belongs to the spoken words, so it goes before the closing inverted commas."Ali, please pass the salt,"
- Add the reporting clause. It tells who spoke. It sits outside the inverted commas, after the speech.said Dad
- Finish with a full stop. The sentence ends with a full stop after the reporting clause."Ali, please pass the salt," said Dad.
- Write the answer. "Ali, please pass the salt," said Dad.
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.Dad asked
- Put a comma after the reporting clause. A comma separates the reporting clause from the spoken words.Dad asked,
- 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.Dad asked, "Chloe, do you want a drink?"
- Write the answer. Dad asked, "Chloe, do you want a drink?"
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."Kofi, get your coat"
- Put the end mark inside the closing inverted commas. The exclamation mark belongs to the spoken words, so it goes before the closing inverted commas."Kofi, get your coat!"
- Add the reporting clause. It tells who spoke. It sits outside the inverted commas, after the speech.shouted Mum
- Finish with a full stop. The sentence ends with a full stop after the reporting clause."Kofi, get your coat!" shouted Mum.
- Write the answer. "Kofi, get your coat!" shouted Mum.
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. Split the spoken words at the reporting clause, then punctuate each part.
- Find the two parts of the speech. The reporting clause sits between the two parts.Fatima, wait | the bus is coming
- Put a comma inside the first part. The same sentence goes on, so the first part ends with a comma inside its closing inverted commas."Fatima, wait,"
- Add the reporting clause and its comma. The reporting clause tells who spoke. A comma follows it.called Ravi,
- Put inverted commas round the second part. The second part starts with a small letter, because the same sentence goes on."the bus is coming."
- Write the answer. "Fatima, wait," called Ravi, "the bus is coming."
Check. Read it aloud: only the spoken words are inside the inverted commas. ✓
Watch out. The comma goes inside the first closing inverted commas. The second part starts with a small letter.
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."Oliver, is that your kite"
- 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."Oliver, is that your kite?"
- Add the reporting clause. It tells who spoke. It sits outside the inverted commas, after the speech.asked Amira
- Finish with a full stop. The sentence ends with a full stop after the reporting clause."Oliver, is that your kite?" asked Amira.
- Write the answer. "Oliver, is that your kite?" asked Amira.
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. 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."Nina, look at the stars"
- Put the end mark inside the closing inverted commas. The comma belongs to the spoken words, so it goes before the closing inverted commas."Nina, look at the stars,"
- Add the reporting clause. It tells who spoke. It sits outside the inverted commas, after the speech.said Dad
- Finish with a full stop. The sentence ends with a full stop after the reporting clause."Nina, look at the stars," said Dad.
- Write the answer. "Nina, look at the stars," said Dad.
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. The reporting clause goes after the speech in this sentence.
- Choose the verb. The speech is a question, so asked fits.asked
- Add the name. The name Ruby tells who is speaking.asked Ruby
- Write the answer. asked Ruby
Check. Asked Ruby tells who asked. ✓
Watch out. The name comes after the verb in this clause.
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."Mia come here," said Dad.
- Find the mistake. A name used to speak to someone is set off with a comma.add a comma after Mia, inside the inverted commas
- Write the correct sentence. Read it aloud. The marks now match the spoken words."Mia, come here," said Dad.
- Write the answer. No. "Mia, come here," said Dad.
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.Dad asks, "Ben, is that your bike?
- Find the mistake. The speech is closed with inverted commas after the question mark, and the closing mark is missing.add the closing inverted commas after the question mark
- Write the correct sentence. Read it aloud. The marks now match the spoken words.Dad asks, "Ben, is that your bike?"
- Write the answer. No. Dad asks, "Ben, is that your bike?"
Check. Read the corrected sentence aloud. ✓
Watch out. Read the sentence aloud, and pause where the marks go.
Method. Look at who the speaker is talking to.
- Find the name. Dad is talking to Mia, so Mia is named in the speech.Mia
- Find the mark. A comma sets the name off from the rest of the speech.Mia, come here
- Write the answer. Dad is talking to Mia, so her name is set off with a comma
Check. The name is set off with a comma. ✓
Watch out. The comma sits inside the inverted commas.
Method. Check a sentence that uses a name in speech.
- Look at a speech with a name. The name is used to speak to someone, so it is set off with a comma."Mia, come here," said Dad.
- Write the answer. No. The name needs a comma
Check. Read it aloud with a pause after Mia. ✓
Watch out. Ravi is not right, because the name needs a comma.
Method. Build the sentence in three parts.
- Write the reporting clause. Asked comes before the speech, with a name.Mia asked
- Write the name inside the speech. The name is followed by a comma inside the inverted commas.Ali,
- Finish the question. The question ends with a question mark inside the closing inverted commas.Mia asked, "Ali, are you ready?"
- Write the answer. Mia asked, "Ali, are you ready?"
Check. Check the comma, the question mark and the capital letters. ✓
Watch out. The question mark replaces a full stop inside the speech.