The note
How schools teach it now
Schools call speech marks 'inverted commas'. Spoken words go inside them, start with a capital letter, and end with a comma, full stop, question mark or exclamation mark inside the closing inverted commas. Reported (indirect) speech has no inverted commas: She asked where we were going.
5-minute kitchen-table activity
At breakfast, your child writes down one thing someone said: “Pass the milk, please,” said Dad. Check four things: opening inverted commas, a capital letter, the punctuation inside the closing inverted commas, and who said it. Then turn it into reported speech: Dad asked for the milk.
Worked example
Which sentence is punctuated correctly? A: “Where are you going?” asked Mum. B: “Where are you going,” asked Mum. C: “Where are you going”? asked Mum. D: “where are you going?” asked Mum.
- The spoken words are a question, so they need a question mark, not a comma.
- The question mark goes inside the closing inverted commas.
- The spoken words start with a capital letter.
Answer: A: “Where are you going?” asked Mum.
Common mistakes to watch for
- Putting the comma or question mark outside the closing inverted commas.
- Using a comma when the spoken words are a question.
- Adding a question mark to reported speech: 'She asked if I was ready?'
Encouragement
- Try saying
- “Let's find just the words that were said out loud.”
- Rather than
- “Speech marks are easy, you just forgot again.”