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Year 3 English Punctuation

Speech Marks

Speech marks (inverted commas) show the exact words a character says. They bring stories to life!

What are speech marks?

Speech marks are punctuation marks that look like this: " ". They go around the exact words a character speaks. They are also called inverted commas or quotation marks.

The rules

  • 1. Open with " before the first word spoken.
  • 2. The spoken words have a capital letter.
  • 3. Punctuation goes INSIDE the closing marks.
  • 4. Close with " after the last spoken word.
  • 5. New speaker = new line.

Example

"Come quickly!" shouted Mia.

"What is it?" asked her brother.

Each set of speech marks captures exactly what was said. Note the punctuation is inside the closing marks.

Reporting verbs

The verb that introduces speech is called a reporting verb. Vary them to make writing interesting:

said, asked, shouted, whispered, replied, cried, exclaimed, muttered

Key Vocabulary

speech marks — punctuation marks (" ") that show a character's exact words
direct speech — the exact words a character speaks, surrounded by speech marks
reporting verb — the verb used to introduce speech (said, asked, shouted)
inverted commas — another name for speech marks or quotation marks

Correct vs Incorrect

Incorrect

I'm going to the park said Jake.

Missing speech marks, no capital letter, no comma or full stop inside marks.

Correct

"I'm going to the park," said Jake.

Speech marks around spoken words, capital I, comma inside the closing marks, lowercase "said".

Incorrect

"watch out!" shouted Emma

No capital letter at the start of speech, missing full stop at the end.

Correct

"Watch out!" shouted Emma.

Capital W starts the speech, exclamation mark inside closing marks, full stop ends the sentence.

Knowledge Check

Question 1

Which sentence uses speech marks correctly?

Question 2

Where does the punctuation (full stop, comma, question mark, etc.) go when using speech marks?

Question 3

What is a "reporting verb" in the context of direct speech?

Question 4

In a story with two characters having a conversation, when should you start a new paragraph (new line)?

Lesson Summary