Here we have the comma bird. It sits on the line in the middle of a sentence and takes a little rest.

So, when do you use a comma bird? You use it when you want to add some extra information to a sentence. You separate it with a comma. It lets you take a little rest and breathe before going on.

The different parts of a sentence are called clauses. Here is a sentence with two parts, two clauses: My friends and I were hungry. So, we ate an amazing pizza.

Ideas are linked together with a comma, like here.

Comma birds are also used to list things. The pizza had cheese, olives, pepperoni, ham, and pineapple.

But too many comma birds will be too heavy on the line. Never use a comma when you can use a period. Punctuate carefully!

Before we look at speech marks, let's quickly review direct and indirect speech. Indirect speech tells the idea of what a person said. The exact words are not given. For example: 'The girl said that she is tired.'

Direct speech tells the exact words that were said. For example: "I am tired," said the girl.

In comics, direct speech is shown using speech bubbles. These visual representations let us know what is said and who said it. In other texts, such as narratives, reports, and newspaper articles, speech bubbles are not used. Instead, speech marks are. Speech marks are also known as quotation marks and they look like this, or they can look like this.

Just like speech bubbles, speech marks are used to show exactly what was said. Anything inside a set of speech marks is the direct speech.

Here are some examples: "Open your books," instructed the teacher. "Let's go to the beach," said Sam.

Within a sentence, the direct speech can go at the beginning, like this, or it can go at the end like this: Sam said, "Let's go to the beach." Notice that no matter which order, a comma separates the direct speech from the person talking.

There is a slight difference, however, if the direct speech is at the beginning of the sentence, the comma goes inside the speech marks. If the direct speech is at the end of the sentence, the comma is placed outside the speech marks.

Direct speech begins with a capital letter, even in cases such as this where the direct speech is in the middle of the sentence. Where direct speech ends a sentence, the full stop is placed inside the speech marks. This is the same for question marks and exclamation marks, as long as it is the direct speech that contains the question or exclamation. If the order is changed and the direct speech begins the sentence, these punctuation marks still go inside the speech marks.

In these cases, the comma that normally separates the direct speech from the speaker is left out.

Have a go at punctuating the following sentences. Be careful: one sentence has indirect speech which means that it won't need speech marks. The sentences that do have direct speech will need speech marks and possibly some other punctuation. Pause here while you work.

The first sentence: here is the direct speech. Let's add in our speech marks. Then we need to add a capital letter to the beginning of the direct speech. Finally, a comma is needed between the speaker and the direct speech.

The second sentence: here's the direct speech, and so our speech marks go here. There is a question in the direct speech, and so we must use a question mark, and it must go inside the speech marks. A comma isn't needed because of the question mark.

The third sentence: there is no direct speech in this sentence. Because it's indirect speech, no speech marks are needed.

The last sentence: here's the direct speech, and so our speech marks go here. A capital letter is already starting the direct speech, but we do need a comma. It goes inside the speech marks, after 'in'. Remember, if you use someone else's words in your writing, use speech marks.