Success Homeschool

Year 4 English · Punctuating direct speech

Name: ______________________

Date: ____________

1. Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
- ☐ (a) 'Let's go,' said Sam.
- ☐ (b) 'Let's go', said Sam.
- ☐ (c) Let's go, said Sam.
2. Which words should go inside quotation marks? Mia shouted watch out for the ball
- ☐ (a) Mia shouted
- ☐ (b) watch out for the ball
- ☐ (c) the ball
3. Which sentence is indirect speech?
- ☐ (a) Tom said, 'I'm tired.'
- ☐ (b) 'I'm tired,' said Tom.
- ☐ (c) Tom said that he was tired.
4. When a new character starts speaking, what should you do?
- ☐ (a) Start a new line.
- ☐ (b) Use a bigger font.
- ☐ (c) Leave out the quotation marks.
5. Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
- ☐ (a) Gran said 'Sit down.'
- ☐ (b) Gran said, 'sit down.'
- ☐ (c) Gran said, 'Sit down.'
6. Which punctuation mark is missing? 'Where is my hat_' asked Leo. Type the mark.
7. Which word should have a capital letter? Ava said, 'we are going to be late.' Type the word.
8. Type the speech verb in: 'I found it!' cried Noah.

Answer sheet

1. 'Let's go,' said Sam. — The comma belongs inside the closing quotation mark.
2. watch out for the ball — Only the exact spoken words go inside quotation marks.
3. Tom said that he was tired. — It reports what Tom said without quoting his exact words.
4. Start a new line. — A new line for each new speaker helps readers follow the conversation.
5. Gran said, 'Sit down.' — A comma follows 'said', and the spoken words start with a capital letter.
6. ? — Leo is asking a question, so a question mark goes inside the closing quotation mark.
7. we — The first word of spoken words starts with a capital: 'We are going to be late.'
8. cried — 'Cried' tells us how Noah said the words.