When speech is split by a reporting clause, close the inverted commas, add the reporting clause, then reopen them: “I know,” said Priya, “that the answer is ten.” The second part starts with a small letter because it continues the same sentence.
If the speaker starts a new sentence, use a full stop after the reporting clause: “I'm late,” said Jo. “The bus broke down.”
Reported speech tells us what someone said without their exact words, so it has no inverted commas: She said that she was tired.
Worked example
Punctuate: please sit down said the teacher and open your books
- It is one spoken sentence split by said the teacher.
- Add commas around the reporting clause and keep and small.
Answer:“Please sit down,” said the teacher, “and open your books.”
Key words
- reporting clause
- the words that tell who spoke
- reported speech
- what someone said, without their exact words
- split speech
- speech broken by a reporting clause
Practise this
New questions every time.
Common Core-referenced: L.4.2b