Direct speech writing rules in English

In the above picture, Mark is talking to Jane. The words inside the blue box are the exact words that he speaks.

Here is how we express this:

This is direct speech. Direct speech is when we report the exact words that somebody says.

In this English lesson, you will learn:

• The rules for writing direct speech.
• The correct punctuation.
• Vocabulary to report direct speech.

Reporting clause before the direct speech

The reporting clause of direct speech is the short clause that indicates who is talking. It is the clause that is outside of the inverted commas. It is therefore not the words being spoken.

We can write the reporting clause either before or after the direct speech. If the reporting clause is before the direct speech, we write it as follows:

Grammar rules – 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
We write 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 a 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
We write an exclamation mark (!) before the closing inverted commas.
We write a full stop (.) at the end of the reporting clause.

Advanced rules for direct speech

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.

Vocabulary of direct speech

We have several names for the above punctuation marks:

Inverted commas
Speech marks
Quotation marks
Quotes

Other reporting verbs

Here are some other useful reporting verbs:

reply (replied)
ask (asked)
shout (shouted)
agree (agreed)
comment (commented)
admit (admitted)

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.

Examples:

“I really don’t like her dress,” she commented.
“I don’t love you anymore,” he admitted.

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Direct speech video lesson