What is direct speech? Direct speech is a sentence in which the exact words spoken are reproduced in speech marks (also known as quotation marks or inverted commas). For example: "You'll never guess what I've just seen!" said Sam, excitedly.

What are the words used in direct speech?

As you can see, with direct speech it is common to use the verb 'to say' ('said' in the past). But you can also find other verbs used to indicate direct speech such as 'ask', 'reply', and 'shout'.

How is direct speech used?

Using direct speech means repeating the spoken phrase or word exactly as it was said. ... When used in written English, you must place the direct speech in inverted commas (“ “) at the beginning and end of the piece of speech. You will also need to use a verb such as “to say” or “to tell”, to describe the moment of speech.