Year 4 English · Direct speech · Summary

Year 4 English Direct speech: summary and key words

Part of the Year 4 English direct speech chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

Chapter summary

Skill	Method
Direct speech	The exact words someone says, inside inverted commas: "Hello," said Mia.
Reporting clause	Tells who speaks and sits outside the inverted commas: said Mia. It can come first, after or in the middle.
End mark	A comma, question mark or exclamation mark goes inside the closing inverted commas. No comma follows a question or exclamation mark.
Reporting clause first	A comma follows it, before the opening inverted commas: Mum calls, "Dinner is ready."
Reporting clause after	A comma inside the marks, then a full stop after the reporting clause: "Hello," said Mia.
Reporting clause in the middle	Comma inside the first part, and a small letter if the same sentence goes on. A full stop after the reporting clause, and a capital letter, if a new sentence begins.
Name in speech	Set off with a comma inside the inverted commas: "Mia, come here," said Dad.
Capital letters	The first word of the speech, and of each new sentence in it, has a capital letter.

I can put inverted commas round the exact words someone says
I can put a comma, question mark or exclamation mark inside the closing inverted commas
I can put a comma after a reporting clause that comes first, and a full stop when a new sentence starts
I can punctuate speech when the reporting clause comes in the middle
I can use a capital letter at the start of each new sentence in speech
I can choose a reporting verb that fits, such as said, asked or shouted
I can write a line of direct speech from memory, and check its marks one by one

direct speech: the exact words that someone says, written inside inverted commas
inverted commas: the marks ("") that go round direct speech; also called speech marks
speech marks: another name for inverted commas, used round the spoken words
reporting clause: the words that tell who speaks, such as said Mia or asked Ben
reporting verb: the verb in a reporting clause, such as said, asked, shouted or whispered
end mark: the comma, question mark or exclamation mark that ends the spoken words, inside the closing inverted commas
capital letter: the large letter used at the start of a sentence, including the first word of a new sentence in speech