Year 4 · Grammar and punctuation
Punctuating what people say
Use and punctuate direct speech, including inverted commas
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Use and punctuate direct speech, including inverted commas
Key learning points
- • Wrap the spoken words
- • Punctuation goes inside
- • When the speaker comes first
- • New speaker, new line
This lesson at a glance
- 20 minutes
- 19 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- No marked quiz yet
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 19
Watch first
Punctuating what people say
Learn exactly where speech marks go around a character's words.
In a nutshell
Use and punctuate direct speech, including inverted commas
What you already know
Part 2 of 19
Before we start
What you already know
You can use capital letters, full stops, question marks and commas in your own sentences.
Key words
Part 3 of 19
Key words
Words you'll need today
- direct speech
- The exact words someone says.
- inverted commas
- The pair of marks that wrap around spoken words — also called speech marks.
- reporting clause
- The bit that says who spoke: said Mia, whispered Dad.
Learning cycle
Part 4 of 19
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 — The four rules
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 19
Learn
Wrap the spoken words
Inverted commas go around the spoken words only, and nothing else. "I found it," said Mia. The words 'said Mia' are outside, because Mia did not say them. Everything inside the marks must be exactly what came out of her mouth — including the capital letter at the start.
Explore the idea
Part 6 of 19
Learn
Punctuation goes inside
The spoken words always end with a punctuation mark before the closing inverted comma. If the sentence carries on afterwards, that mark is usually a comma: "I found it," said Mia. If she asked or shouted, keep the question or exclamation mark: "Where was it?" asked Dad. "Look out!" she yelled. You never need a comma as well as a question mark.
Quick check
Part 7 of 19
Quick check
Which is punctuated correctly?
Quick check
Part 8 of 19
Quick check
Which is correct?
Reset break
Part 9 of 19
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 2 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 10 of 19
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 — Building a conversation
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 11 of 19
Learn
When the speaker comes first
You can flip it round: Mia said, "I found it under the shed." Now the comma comes before the opening inverted comma, and the spoken words end with a full stop inside. Both orders are correct — good writers mix them so the page does not sound like a list.
Explore the idea
Part 12 of 19
Learn
New speaker, new line
Every time the speaker changes, start a new line. That way the reader can follow the conversation even when you do not say who is talking. "Did you look in the shed?" asked Dad. / "Twice," said Mia. / "Then look again." Using a stronger verb than said — muttered, pleaded, groaned — tells the reader how it sounded, but 'said' is not a bad word; too many fancy verbs get tiring.
Quick check
Part 13 of 19
Quick check
Speaker first — which is right?
Quick check
Part 14 of 19
Quick check
When should you start a new line?
Common mix-ups
Part 15 of 19
Common mix-ups
Things people often get wrong
- Putting the reporting clause inside the inverted commas.
- Leaving out the comma before the closing inverted comma.
- Keeping every speaker in the same paragraph, so the reader loses track.
Challenge round
Part 16 of 19
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Challenge round
Part 17 of 19
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
____ commas go around the spoken words only, and nothing else.
Mastery quiz
Part 18 of 19
No quiz for this one
This lesson has no marked quiz attached yet.
Lesson round-up
Part 19 of 19
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
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Points this lesson
0
Best run
0 in a row
Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaDo the work
Your written work for this lesson
This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.
The last bus
The bus shelter smelled of wet coats. Mira pressed her timetable flat against the glass, as though staring at the numbers might make the 9:42 appear. Rain tapped the roof in small, impatient fingers. Somewhere behind her, a shop shutter came down with a sound like a full stop.
She had been brave all day. She had been brave in the corridor, brave at lunch, brave when the register reached her name and nobody looked up. Being brave, she decided, was mostly a matter of keeping your face still.
Headlights swung around the corner and lit the puddles gold. Mira picked up her bag. Tomorrow she would say something. Tonight she would simply go home.
Original extract written for Good Learning Co.
Reading questions
- Find two words or phrases that show how Mira is feeling, and explain what each one suggests.
- How does the writer use the weather and the sounds to build the mood? Use a short quotation.
- Write the next paragraph in the same style, keeping the writer's short sentences at the moments that matter.
Reading response
ReadingRead the extract again, then write about how the writer makes you feel that way. Use a short quotation and explain your choice of words.
2 paragraphs (PEE)
Extended writing
WritingWrite your piece in full, then redraft the opening so it hooks the reader.
250–350 words
Reading log
ReadingNote the book, the pages you read and one thing you noticed about the writing.
20 minutes' reading
Saved as you type.
Part 1 of 19 · Watch & discover