Speech marks (also called inverted commas) go around the exact words someone says. They help readers tell the difference between what a character says and what the narrator tells us.
Apa yang akan dipelajari anak anda
- Put speech marks around the words that are spoken
- Put punctuation inside the closing speech marks
- Start spoken words with a capital letter
- Choose interesting words instead of “said”
Inside the speech marks
Only the spoken words go inside the speech marks, and so does their punctuation: “Come here,” said Mum. The comma, question mark or exclamation mark sits inside, just before the closing marks.
Swapping “said” for words like whispered, shouted or sobbed tells the reader how the words were spoken.
Contoh soalan
Berikut ialah beberapa soalan seperti dalam misi pertama. Bolehkah anda menjawabnya?
1. True or false? Speech marks go around the words that are spoken.
Tunjuk jawapan
Jawapan: Betul. Just the spoken words go inside.
2. Which words does Ravi say? “I love pizza!” shouted Ravi.
- I love pizza!
- pizza shouted
- shouted Ravi
- Ravi
Tunjuk jawapan
Jawapan: I love pizza!. The spoken words are inside the speech marks.
3. Which word is best instead of “said” for someone speaking very loudly?
- sighed
- mumbled
- whispered
- shouted
Tunjuk jawapan
Jawapan: shouted. Shouting is speaking very loudly.
Tip untuk orang dewasa
- Look at a comic: the words in speech bubbles are what goes inside speech marks.
- Read a dialogue aloud with different voices for each speaker.