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Punctuating speech

You learn to put in the inverted commas and the mark that goes inside them.

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How to do the test

  1. Decide what the spoken words do: tell, ask or exclaim.
  2. A question takes a question mark.
  3. Strong feeling takes an exclamation mark.
  4. A statement takes a comma if the speaker comes next, and a full stop at the end.

Put in the inverted commas and the mark that goes inside them. I am hungry said Tom.

  1. The spoken words are a statement and the speaker comes next, so use a comma.
  2. The mark goes inside the inverted commas.
  3. Inverted commas go around the spoken words.
More examples

Put in the inverted commas and the mark that goes inside them. Dad said, We are late

  1. The spoken words are a statement and they end the sentence, so use a full stop.
  2. The mark goes inside the inverted commas.
  3. Inverted commas go around the spoken words.

Put in the inverted commas and the mark that goes inside them. Gran asked, Would you like some tea

  1. The spoken words ask something, so use a question mark.
  2. The mark goes inside the inverted commas.
  3. Inverted commas go around the spoken words.