🎭 you are a and a . How does the you the the ? That is the of ! the a , for , as if you were there . you will the that make it .
✨
💬 The used to are called . They like 66 and 99 the . You also them called or . They act like a in a — to the .
Here is the : around ONLY the . of them as a around the a . the the who is or how they it. at this : , "I !" The us who . The the are what .
Rule
Example
Why it matters
Open with inverted commas before the first spoken word
"Come here
Shows the speech is starting
Start the spoken words with a capital letter
"Come here," he said.
Every new piece of speech starts with a capital
Put a comma, question mark, or exclamation mark before the closing inverted commas
"Are you ready?" she asked.
The punctuation belongs inside the speech bubble
Start a new paragraph for each new speaker
"Yes," said Tom. NEW LINE "Good," replied Mia.
Helps readers follow who is talking
The four rules of speech punctuation 📋
💡
🔑 : before you the , ask — have I put a in there? A , a , or an the . let them !
🔗 Match each part of a speech sentence to what it is called. Drag each left item to its correct label on the right. 🎯
"Watch out!"
shouted the wizard
The comma after the spoken words
Capital letter at the start of speech
Now let us at where the when the . When you say who is before the , put a after the and before the . : The old , "There is the ." the after and before the . The then with a the .
⚠️
⚠️ out for this ! put the the like this: "I am ". That is . The should sit : "I am ." your end the where it .
🗂️ Sort these sentences into two groups: correctly punctuated direct speech, or incorrectly punctuated direct speech. 🗂️
"We need to leave now," said Priya.
"Run as fast as you can!" yelled the coach.
"Where is my hat"? asked the clown.
Sam said "let us build a den."
"I found the key!" she exclaimed.
"this is brilliant, said Leo."
use — that between — to us what are like just us. A say, "I the !" while a , "Are you about that?" You about both from what they SAY and HOW they say it. your : , , , and all the much more than just .
✍️ Fill in the missing words to complete this correctly punctuated piece of dialogue. Choose from the word bank below. 📝
"I I can ," . "It like ," she .
You have now all the key : the , a the , the , and a new each a . Use these every you a with . your to and your ! 🌟
Quiz time! 📝
What Characters Say: Direct Speech — Quick Quiz 🏆
Question 1 of 5
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