DIRECT SPEECH | English writing lesson and exercises
In this tutorial learners are going to learn English writing lesson about direct speech.
Before we further proceed, watch the video here about DIRECT SPEECH | English writing lesson and exercises in English class.
So, if we want to write what is happening here, then this is how we write.
He said “Let’s go to the mall.”
Direct speech.
Direct speech is when we report the exact words that somebody says.
In this lesson you will learn:
The rules for writing direct speech.
The correct punctuation.
Vocabulary to report direct speech.
And finally, at the end of the lesson there are some exercises for practice.
Reporting clause before the direct speech
“He said” is before the direct speech, so the rules are;
If the reporting clause is before the direct speech:
We write a comma (,) before the direct speech.
We write the exact words inside the inverted commas.
The first letter is a capital letter.
We write a full stop (.) before the closing inverted commas.
Reporting clause before a question or exclamation
If the reporting clause is before a question or exclamation:
We write a comma (,) before the direct speech.
We write the exact words inside the inverted commas.
The first letter is a capital letter.
We write a question mark (?) before the closing inverted commas.
or an exclamation mark (!) before the closing inverted commas.
Reporting clause after the direct speech
If the reporting clause is after the direct speech:
We write the exact words inside the inverted commas.
The first letter is a capital letter.
We write a comma (,) before the closing inverted commas.
We write a full stop (.) at the end of the reporting clause.
Reporting clause after a question or exclamation
If the reporting clause is after the question or exclamation.
We write the exact words inside the inverted commas.
The first letter is a capital letter.
We write a question mark (?) before the closing inverted commas.
or an exclamation mark (!) before the closing inverted commas.
We write a full stop (.) at the end of the reporting clause.
Advanced rule
Sometimes we break up the direct speech into 2 parts:
The second part of the direct speech starts with a small letter if it is the same sentence as the first part of the direct speech.
The second part of the direct speech starts with a capital letter if it is a new sentence.
Inverted commas
Speech marks
Quotation marks
Quotes
Other reporting verbs
Here are some other useful reporting verbs.
They are often used for writing direct speech in books, newspapers and reports.
It is more common to use them in reporting clauses after the direct speech.
reply (replied) ask (asked) comment (commented)
agree (agreed) shout (shouted) admit (admitted)
Examples:
Exercise
Which of the following sentences are written correctly?
Example:
So, that’s the end of the lesson, I hope you enjoyed it. Don’t forget to subscribe, share, like and let me know your thoughts and questions, love to hear from you.
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