Direct speech

In direct speech, we quote the exact words that were spoken. We put quotation
marks around what was said and add a speech tag such as he said “or ” “she
asked” either before or after the .3quote. Quoting around dialogue is the most
common use of quotation marks in formal writing. Quotes around direct quotations
or a person's exact words are enclosed with quotation marks to indicate someone
else’s words and includes printed words or spoken words.

1. Each set of direct quotes receives its own set of quotation marks.

2. Use a capital letter at the beginning of each direct quotation unless the quotation
is only part of a sentence.

3. When quotations are interrupted mid-way through the sentence, do not begin the
second part of the sentence with a capital.

4. When stating who is being quoted, use a comma after the dialogue tag and
before the quotation marks.

5. When you are rephrasing a quoted passage, do not use quotation marks.

6. Each new direct quote begins a new paragraph even if it's short. * Paul said, “I
would rather go to the city on Friday night because they are having a great play in
the park.”

 Paul stated that he, “would rather go to the city on Friday night” because of a
show in the park.
 “He loves to see plays,“ Elizabeth said, “especially outside.”

7. Quotation within a Quotation

 Use single quotation marks when quoting inside a quote. Note: at the end of
this example is a single quote and a double quote.
 The professor explained, “I love the quote by Mark Twain that said, 'Always
do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.'”

8. When quoting long passages, more than four typed lines, indent two tabs and do
not use quotation marks. When quoting poetry that is three lines or longer, indent
to the same specifications as a long passage. The poem should be quoted as the
poet wrote it.
Reported speech
Reported speech is another way of saying what someone said, but without
quotation marks. Reported speech doesn't repeat the words exactly as they were
spoken. It changes the tense of all the verbs that were used.

The resources found at www.tes.co.uk/ResourceDetail  (Tes Connect –

requires free membership) clarifies and provides resources.

Putting speech marks in their place  shows how to use speech marks correctly.
Students can test their knowledge of using speech marks by doing the interactive
quiz in the resource.

Explicitly teaching the metalanguage of sentences assists students to look for, be

aware of and use punctuation markers in sentences. Opportunities to put elements
together to form a coherent whole in contextual and meaningful activities should be
provided so that students can practice, verbalize and transfer skills to new
situations.

Punctuation helps to read and make sense of what is written. It is vital in the
development of reading comprehension and provides the link between spoken like
language and the more formal written language.