Year 4 — Grammar

Speech, clauses and tense

Punctuate direct speech correctly, identify clauses confidently, use tenses accurately and consistently, and write using Standard English.

Back to Year 4

💡Understand

DIRECT SPEECH is exactly what someone says, in speech marks. STANDARD ENGLISH is the correctly structured, widely accepted form of English used in most writing — for example, 'I did nothing wrong' (Standard) rather than 'I never done nothing wrong' (non-standard).

“"I've never seen anything like it," Mia whispered, her eyes wide with wonder.”

The speech marks correctly surround exactly what Mia said. 'I've never seen' uses Standard English and past tense consistently. The whole sentence stays in one tense throughout.

🔍Spot it

Is this Standard English or non-standard?

Question 1

"We were going to the park."

💡 This follows standard grammar rules correctly.

Question 2

"We was going to the park."

💡 'We was' doesn't follow standard subject-verb agreement rules — this is non-standard.

Question 3

Which is punctuated correctly for direct speech?

💡 The speech marks correctly surround exactly what she said.

🧠Think about it

Why is it important to keep the same tense throughout a piece of writing, rather than mixing 'is' (present) with 'was' (past) randomly?

✍️Try it

Choose the correctly punctuated direct speech.

Someone shouts 'Look out!'

Question 1

Which is correctly punctuated?

💡 Speech marks need to open AND close around exactly what was shouted.

📝Practise

Choose the correct sentence or identify the clause each time.

Question 1

Which is Standard English?

Question 2

"the door creaked open" — is this a main or subordinate clause?

Question 3

"because nobody had oiled the hinges" — main or subordinate clause?

Question 4

In one phrase, what do we call exactly what a character says, shown in speech marks?

💡 It's the first skill named in this lesson's introduction.

Question 5

Which sentence keeps a consistent tense?

Question 6

Which is correctly punctuated?

🎯Apply

Read the passage, then answer the questions below.

"I've never seen the ocean before," Sam admitted quietly, staring at the horizon. His sister smiled and said, "Well, now you have."

Question 1

What exactly did Sam say?

💡 Look inside the first set of speech marks.

Question 2

Is Sam's dialogue written in Standard English?

Question 3

What did Sam's sister say in reply?

💡 Look inside the second set of speech marks.

🏆Challenge

Can you write a sentence of direct speech, correctly punctuated, using Standard English?

🔄Review

A quick mastery check — 3 questions.

Question 1

Which is Standard English?

Question 2

"she smiled brightly" — main or subordinate clause?

Question 3

Why keep a consistent tense throughout a piece of writing?

Want more practice mixing this with other grammar rules? Try Grammar practice →