Direct Speech
Learn Direct Speech in English and practice quoting spoken words clearly with correct punctuation and reporting verbs.
Direct speech gives the exact words that a person says. We put these exact words inside quotation marks. This shows the reader that the words are spoken words.
Quotation marks go around the spoken words in direct speech. The first word inside the quotation marks starts with a capital letter when it is a full sentence. The punctuation for the spoken sentence stays inside the quotation marks.
| Rule |
|---|
| Use quotation marks to show the exact spoken words 💬. |
| Begin the first word with a capital letter when the quoted words are a full sentence 🔠. |
| Put the final comma, question mark, or full stop inside the quotation marks ✍️. |
A reporting verb tells who speaks and how the speech is introduced. Common reporting verbs for direct speech are say, ask, and shout. These verbs connect the speaker to the quoted words.
| Word or Phrase | Definition |
|---|---|
| say | It introduces spoken words in a neutral way 💬. |
| ask | It introduces a question or a request ❓. |
| shout | It introduces loud spoken words 📢. |
The reporting clause can come before the quoted speech. In this position, the reporting clause usually ends with a comma. The quoted sentence then begins with a capital letter inside the quotation marks.
| Rule |
|---|
| Place the reporting clause first when you want to name the speaker before the spoken words 👤. |
| Put a comma before the opening quotation marks in this pattern , |
| Start the quoted sentence with a capital letter inside the quotation marks 🔠. |
The reporting clause can come after the quoted speech. In this position, the quoted speech comes first, and the reporting clause follows. A comma usually separates the quoted words from the reporting clause.
| Rule |
|---|
| Place the quoted speech first when you want the spoken words to come before the speaker 💬. |
| Put a comma inside the closing quotation marks before the reporting clause ✍️. |
| Begin the reporting clause with a small letter when it continues the same sentence 🔡. |
The reporting clause can also come in the middle of quoted speech. Then the spoken sentence is divided into two parts. Commas are used to separate the first part, the reporting clause, and the second part.
| Rule |
|---|
| Use a reporting clause in the middle when one spoken sentence continues after the speaker words 🔗. |
| Put a comma before the closing quotation marks in the first part and after the reporting clause ✍️. |
| Do not use a capital letter in the second part if it continues the same sentence 🔡. |
Direct speech can show questions with the exact spoken words. When the spoken words are a question, the question mark stays inside the quotation marks. The reporting verb ask is often used for this kind of direct speech.
| Rule |
|---|
| Keep the question mark inside the quotation marks when the spoken words are a question ❓. |
| Use ask as a common reporting verb for direct questions 🗣️. |
| Begin the quoted question with a capital letter when it is a full sentence 🔠. |
You can now write direct speech with quotation marks and reporting verbs. You can place the reporting clause before, after, or in the middle of the quoted words. You can also use capitals and punctuation correctly inside the quotation marks.