1. Commas in Speech

2. When to use commas in direct speech.
All direct speech needs to end with some form of punctuation. You could use a full stop, exclamation mark or a question mark.
Examples:
‘Can I come in?’ he asked.
‘Just a moment!’ she shouted.
But if you’re not using any of these, the speech still needs some form of punctuation and that’s when you can use a comma.
Example: ‘You’re right,’ he said.
Speech should NEVER just look like this:
‘You’re right’ he said.

3. When to use commas in direct speech.
If the direct speech comes after the information about who is speaking, you still need to use a comma.
This time the comma is used to introduce the speech.
Example:
Steve replied, ‘No problem.’
If the direct speech is broken up by information about who is speaking, you need a comma (or a question mark or exclamation mark) to end the first piece of speech and a full stop or another comma before the second piece.
Examples:
‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘It feels strange.’
‘Thinking back,’ she said, ‘he didn’t expect to win.’
‘No!’ he cried. ‘You can’t leave now!’

4. Punctuate these examples of speech.
He’s very clever, you know said Mark.
Susan asked Can I come with you to the beach?
Wait shouted Lucy I want to come too
It was really fun replied Karl.
Holly whispered I’m really scared.

5. Check Your Answers “He’s very clever, you know,” said Mark.
Susan asked, “Can I come with you to the beach?”
“Wait!” shouted Lucy. “I want to come too!”
“It was really fun,” replied Karl.
Holly whispered, “I’m really scared.”