Free Printable Quotation Marks Worksheets For Kids - Free Printable

You're right — this is a grammar exercise focused on correctly using quotation marks to show direct speech (exact words someone said). The key rule: When reporting what someone said *verbatim*, you put their exact words inside quotation marks, and usually include a comma before the quote if the sentence starts with “someone said/asked.”

Let’s go through each sentence one by one.

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✔ 1. Doctor asked how you are today.

This is indirect speech — it reports the general idea, not the exact words. But the task says: “Add the quotation marks in the following sentences.” So we must assume they want us to turn it into direct speech.

👉 Corrected version:
> Doctor asked, “How are you today?”

- We add a comma after “asked”.
- We put the exact question in quotes.
- Capitalize “How” because it’s the start of the quoted sentence.
- End with a question mark inside the quotes.

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✔ 2. Chef asked which food is your favorite.

Again, indirect. Let’s convert to direct speech.

👉 Corrected version:
> Chef asked, “Which food is your favorite?”

- Comma after “asked”.
- Quotation marks around the exact question.
- Question mark inside the quotes.

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✔ 3. Baby asked where do tigers live.

This is grammatically incorrect as written — “where do tigers live” is not proper reported speech structure. In direct speech, we keep the original wording, so it’s okay to say “where do tigers live?” as a child might say it.

👉 Corrected version:
> Baby asked, “Where do tigers live?”

- Add comma after “asked”.
- Put the question in quotes.
- Capitalize “Where”.
- Keep the question mark inside.

*(Note: In formal writing, adults might say “Where do tigers live?” — it’s fine for a baby to ask it that way.)*

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✔ 4. Mom asked who sits next to you in the class.

This is also indirect. Convert to direct speech.

👉 Corrected version:
> Mom asked, “Who sits next to you in class?”

- Add comma after “asked”.
- Put the question in quotes.
- Capitalize “Who”.
- Note: “in the class” → often shortened to “in class” in natural speech, but both are acceptable. You can keep “in the class” if preferred.
> Mom asked, “Who sits next to you in the class?” — also correct.

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✔ 5. Dad asked can I buy some bread.

This is missing punctuation and structure. As direct speech, Dad would say: “Can I buy some bread?”

👉 Corrected version:
> Dad asked, “Can I buy some bread?”

- Add comma after “asked”.
- Put the question in quotes.
- Capitalize “Can”.
- End with question mark inside quotes.

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✔ 6. Mom asked where we are going shopping.

This is indirect. Turn into direct speech.

👉 Corrected version:
> Mom asked, “Where are we going shopping?”

- Add comma after “asked”.
- Put the question in quotes.
- Capitalize “Where”.
- Notice: “we are going shopping” becomes “are we going shopping” — because in questions, word order changes. This is important!

✔ So:
Original: “where we are going shopping” → Incorrect word order for direct question.
Correct: “Where are we going shopping?”

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## 🎯 Final Answers:

1. Doctor asked, “How are you today?”
2. Chef asked, “Which food is your favorite?”
3. Baby asked, “Where do tigers live?”
4. Mom asked, “Who sits next to you in class?” *(or “in the class”)
5. Dad asked, “Can I buy some bread?”
6. Mom asked, “Where are we going shopping?”

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## 💡 Teaching Tip:
When turning indirect speech into direct speech:
- Use quotation marks.
- Add a comma before the quote if the speaker comes first.
- Start the quote with a capital letter.
- End with appropriate punctuation inside the quotes (., !, ?).
- Adjust word order if needed (e.g., statements → questions).

Great job practicing! 😊📚