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Commissioned by The PiXL Club Ltd.July 2020
© Copyright The PiXL Club Limited, 2020
This resource is strictly for the use of member schools for as
long as they remain members of The PiXL Club. It may not be copied,
sold nor transferred to a third party or used by the school after
membership ceases. Until such time it may
be freely used within the member school.All opinions and
contributions are those of the authors. The contents of this
resource are not connected with nor
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Club Ltd endeavour to trace and contact copyright owners. If there
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remedy these on written notification.
Uses inverted commas and other punctuation to indicate direct
speech
(e.g. The conductor shouted, “Sit down!”)
Year 4 Autumn Transition Therapy
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Teacher Guidance
❑Children should already have experience of identifying and
starting to use inverted commas (see Year 3 GPS resources).
❑Year 5 GPS resources which build on this are available on
PrimaryWise.
Common misconceptions to be aware of:
❑Incorrect belief that a capital letter should only be used for
the first word in the sentence. Reality: a capital should be used
for the first word of the writer’s sentence and the speaker’s
sentence, e.g. Tom said, “Hello.”
❑Incorrect belief that a capital letter should be used for the
first word of the reporting clause (e.g. “How are you?” He asked).
Reality: the reporting clause does not require a capital letter
unless it begins with a proper noun or is at the start of the
writer’s sentence, e.g. He asked, “How are you?”
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Teacher Guidance
Common misconceptions to be aware of:
❑Assumption that a question mark or exclamation mark should go
at the very end of the sentence. Reality: if a question mark or
exclamation mark is required, it should go at the end of the
speaker’s sentence; this may not be the end of the writer’s
sentence, e.g. “What are you doing?” he asked.
❑Confusion about where to place inverted commas
(before/after/above other punctuation). Reality: inverted commas
should be placed before the first word of the speech and after the
final sentence punctuation at the end of the speech, e.g. “That’s
mine,” she announced.
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Shades of meaningPut these words in order. Explain how you have
ordered them.
yelled
shouted
shrieked
cried
boomed
Vocabulary
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Inverted commas
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Inverted commas
Inverted commas are also known as speech marks and quotation
marks. Inverted commas show what is being said.
“ ”Sometimes, they might look like a small 66 and 99.
Sometimes, they might look like two small lines.
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Inverted commas
Inverted commas go around the words that are being spoken.
“I am getting fed up of this,” grumbled Jack.
Jack grumbled, “I am getting fed up of this.”
words that are being spoken
words that are being spoken
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Inverted commas
Inverted commas are always placed before the first word of the
speech and after the end punctuation of the speech.
“Which one shall we choose?” asked Mr Aktar.
Mr Aktar asked, “Which one shall we choose?”
first word of speech end punctuation of the speech
first word of speech end punctuation of the speech
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“Wait for me!” yelled Jakob.
Jakob yelled, “Wait for me!”
Inverted commas
The reporting clause tells us who is speaking. It is never
punctuated with inverted commas. The ‘said’ verb is never
capitalised.
reporting clause
reporting clause
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Inverted commas
The speech sentence must contain the correct end
punctuation.
If the end of the speech sentence is also the end of your
sentence, this will usually be a full stop, question mark or
exclamation mark.
Mila whispered, “I’m scared.” . at the end of sentence
Mila exclaimed, “This is fun!” ! to add emphasis
Mila asked, “What time is it?” ? as it is a question
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Inverted commas
The speech sentence must contain the correct end
punctuation.
If the end of the speech sentence is not the end of your
sentence, this might be a comma but we can also use a question mark
or exclamation mark.
“I’m scared,” whispered Mila. , at the end of the speech
“This is fun!” exclaimed Mila. ! to add emphasis
“What time is it?” asked Mila. ? as it is a question
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Remember
If the reporting clause is at the beginning, use a comma before
you start the speech to allow the reader to pause and change their
voice, if needed.
Miss Sykes announced, “I declare the reading hut open.”
If the reporting clause is at the end, you will already have
used a comma, exclamation mark or question mark at the end of the
character’s sentence.
“I declare the reading hut open,” announced Miss Sykes.
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Your turn
Rewrite the sentences below, inserting the correct
punctuation.
Which have more than one option?
Kim asked, “Which direction is the museum in”
The wizard scolded, “Don’t touch my wand”
Jamil mumbled, “I’m sorry”
The crowd chanted, “Where’s the band”
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How did you do?
Rewrite the sentences below, inserting the correct
punctuation.
Kim asked, “Which direction is the museum in?”
The wizard scolded, “Don’t touch my wand!”
Jamil mumbled, “I’m sorry.”
The crowd chanted, “Where’s the band?”
Exclamation marks and full stops are often a matter of
preference.
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Your turn
Rewrite the sentences below, inserting the correct
punctuation.
Which have more than one option?
“Why do I have to do this” he complained.
“I broke it” confessed Layla.
“Watch this” shouted Ramon.
“I do not agree at all” argued Mr Okoli.
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How did you do it?
Rewrite the sentences below, inserting the correct
punctuation.
“Why do I have to do this?” he complained.
“I broke it,” confessed Layla.
“Watch this!” shouted Ramon.
“I do not agree at all,” argued Mr Okoli.
Exclamation marks and full stops are often a matter of
preference.
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Your turn
Insert the missing commas.
Ali laughed “I’m only joking!”
James growled “Leave me alone.”
“Have fun” he grinned.
Miss Rajesh cautioned “The floor is slippery here.”
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How did you do?
Insert the missing commas.
Ali laughed, “I’m only joking!”
James growled, “Leave me alone.”
“Have fun,” he grinned.
Miss Rajesh cautioned, “The floor is slippery here.”
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Your turn
Tick two boxes to show where the inverted commas should be
placed.
The band of goblins yelled , Attack !
A C
B E
D
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Your turn
Tick two boxes to show where the inverted commas should be
placed.
The band of goblins yelled , Attack !
A C
B E
D
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Your turn
Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
Which are not? Explain what is wrong.
“How will you record your results” questioned the teacher.
“How will you record your results?” questioned the teacher.
“How will you record your results” Questioned the teacher.
“How will you record your results,” questioned the teacher.
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How did you do?
Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
Which are not? Explain what is wrong.
“How will you record your results” questioned the teacher.
“How will you record your results?” questioned the teacher.
“How will you record your results” Questioned the teacher.
“How will you record your results,” questioned the teacher.
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Your turn
where shall we go after lunch asked milanna
hana answered we could go to the pond
Remember: inverted commas are used around the words that are
being spoken.
Rewrite the speech sentences below using the correct
punctuation.
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How did you do?
“Where shall we go after lunch?” asked Milanna.
Hana answered, “We could go to the pond.”
Remember: inverted commas are used around the words that are
being spoken.
Rewrite the speech sentences below using the correct
punctuation.
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Your turn
“Put that down.” Ordered Eli.
“Can you fix this” asked Becky?
Explain two mistakes with the way in which each sentence below
has been punctuated.
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How did you do?
“Put that down.” Ordered Eli.
There should be a comma or an exclamation mark after ‘down’ as
it is not the end of the writer’s sentence. ‘Ordered’ should not
have a capital letter as it is
not the start of the writer’s sentence or the speech
sentence.
“Can you fix this” asked Becky?
The question mark should be after ‘this’ as this is the end of
the question sentence. There should be a full stop after
‘Becky’.
Explain two mistakes with the way in which each sentence below
has been punctuated.
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Reflection
• Use inverted commas around the words that are being
spoken.
• Both your sentence and the speech sentence must start with a
capital letter.
• Make sure you use the correct end punctuation for your
sentence as well as the speech sentence.
• If the reporting clause is at the beginning, use a comma
before you start the speech.