LUMIERE ENGLISH ACADEMY; DISTANCE TEACHING COURSE LESSON 16; LEARN PUNCTUATION - SPEECH MARKS

TO THE TUTOR;
IN LESSONS ON PUNCTUATION, TEACH YOUR STUDENT WHEN TO USE;

• Speech marks
• Colons
• Semi-colons
• Brackets
• Hyphens
• Dashes

Give the student plenty of practice with punctuation. This will be helpful to the student to learn to;

• Punctuate sentences correctly
• Use punctuation to clarify information and explanation
• Know when to use speech marks, colons, semi-colons, brackets, hyphens, dashes
• Be more confident with correct punctuation choice when writing
• Have more punctuation options available when the student writes

The correct use of punctuation marks can greatly enhance both the clarity and the power of the student's writing.

SPEECH MARKS
'Speech' means speaking.
We use speech marks when we write down the exact words that somebody is speaking.
Speech marks look like this, "   "

Where do speech marks get placed?
The first set " is placed before the first word spoken.
The second set " is placed after the last word spoken.
For example; "What are you doing?" asked James.

REMEMBER;

1. Open the speech marks when somebody begins talking
      "Where are ...

2. Close the speech marks when somebody finishes talking.
       " ... you going?"

3. Don't make the speech marks too large when handwriting them.
       "Yes."

4. When we use speech marks, we often place the speech in the middle of a sentence.
For example
James said, "I'll return soon," as he left home.

5. You need to use other punctuation with speech marks.
5.1 Put a comma before you open the speech marks if the speech is later on in the sentence.
For example
Jane replied, "I'll wait."
Note; punctuation marks are used within the two sets of speech marks when relevant.

5.2 Put a comma before you close the speech marks if more is to follow in the sentence.
For example
"Goodbye," he said.

5.3 Put a full stop at the end of the sentence.
"Goodbye."

5.4 Put a question mark if the sentence between the speech marks is a question. Do this even if the final part of the sentence is not a question.
For example
"Why did you break the vase?" Mary asked.

5.5 Put an exclamation mark if the sentence between the speech marks requires an exclamation, even if the full sentence does not end with an exclamation mark.
For example
"Get out!" he shouted.

Set speech marks exercises for your students. Practice makes perfect!

Best wishes with your tutoring!
Catherine Nicolette Whittle
Diploma TESOL and EDI Level 5 Diploma in teaching English
London Teacher's Training College