Inverted Commas
Help your children understand inverted commas and how to use them properly in their sentences. Find out whether punctuation should go inside or outside of quotes. Please look through our resources which can help your lessons in the classroom or at home.
Inverted commas show where direct speech or a quotation starts and ends in a sentence.
There are single and double quotation marks printed as‘ ’ or “.”
Sometimes, inverted commas are reused to define the play, song, or book being spoken about.
Inverted commas are opened with a“(66) before the first word is spoken and are closed with a” (99).
Imagine that inverted commas are like a pair of hands; they hold only the words being spoken.
Speech should end with a comma, question mark, or exclamation mark inside the inverted commas.
When finishing the entire sentence, use a full stop after reporting the clause.
For example: “I love apples!” said John.
How do you use inverted commas in a sentence?
Marking the starting and end of direct dialogue:
“Look out! Don’t trip over.” Alice yelled.
“You forgot your packed lunch, Alex.” His mum exclaimed sleepily.
To quote a phrase or word by another person or place or to mark something essential within a sentence for emphasis:
When plants transform sunlight energy into chemical energy, this is called “photosynthesis.”
However, if this occurs between direct speech, typically, we use single inverted commas.
We also use inverted commas to quote within a quote:
The teacher explained, “Shakespeare once said, ‘Better three hours too soon than a minute later, Billy.”
Inverted commas must not be overused in writing and are only used when necessary.
Does punctuation go inside or outside quotation marks?
One of the most common questions about using inverted commas (or quote marks) is whether punctuation goes inside or outside the quotes. Of course, in almost all circumstances, punctuation should go inside quotation marks.
For example:
“I love popcorn!” Ella cried.
“What time is the film?” Mum asked.
“I don’t have any chocolate left,” Simon sulked.
“Don’t fill up on sweets,” his dad said, “We’ll be having our dinner straight after the film.”
There are only a few exceptions to this rule, usually when the punctuation doesn’t relate to the quote or speech itself.
For example:
Did you try the password “jack123”?
The same error was again: “unable to access the file.”
What is the difference between inverted commas and quotation marks?
Inverted commas and quotation marks are the same!
However, we split them into single and double inverted commas/quotation marks, e.g., ‘Do you know,’ the teacher said, ‘what “photosynthesis” is?’
Reporting Clauses
A reporting clause comes after the inverted commas in a sentence.
It gives information about who is speaking and how it was said.
Such as: “Are you upset?”Louis asks sincerely.
In this case, the reporting clause explains that Louis is speaking and using a sincere tone. Therefore, it deviates from the use of ‘said’ in a sentence.
There are many synonyms for reporting clauses; this will enrich writing and improve a child’s vocabulary knowledge.
