Round brackets: shift and the 9 key open, shift and the 0 key close.
The big ideaQuotation marks and round brackets come in pairs. Open one, then close it.
How it works
Quotation marks show the words someone says out loud. One mark goes before the words and one goes after, the way two hands hold a cup.
Round brackets hold a little extra bit: take it out, and the sentence still works.
Marks and brackets come in pairs, so if you open one, always close it.
The quotation mark is shift and the apostrophe key. Round brackets are shift and nine to open, then shift and zero to close; the keys are on the right, so hold the left shift.
Writing speech takes three steps.Two pairs, two jobs.
Example 1: Write speech
Type Kofi said, and a comma.
Open with a quotation mark.
Type the words that are said: Look at this.
Close with a second quotation mark, and the speech has its pair.
Two marks hold the spoken words.
Example 2: Write a little extra bit
Type Bolt.
Open a round bracket with shift and nine.
Type the extra bit: the robot.
Close the bracket with shift and zero, then type waved.
Take the bracket out, and Bolt waved still works.
The extra bit sits inside a pair of brackets.
Example 3: Close what you open
Kofi typed the first mark and Bolt's words, but forgot the second mark.
Now the whole page is Bolt talking, and the talking never stops.
Add a second quotation mark after the words, and the talking stops.
Example 4: Speech and a whisper together
Open the marks and type Look, then close the marks.
Type said Bolt.
Open a bracket, type very softly, and close the bracket.
Open the marks again, type a rainbow, and close them.
Every mark and bracket that was opened has been closed.
Three pairs, all closed.
Words to know
quotation marks
A pair of marks that hold the words someone says out loud.
round brackets
A pair of marks that hold a little extra bit.
pair
Two marks that go together: one opens and one closes.
speech
The words someone says out loud.
Watch out
Do not forget the second mark: one mark at the start is not enough.
Spoken words need quotation marks. A line that only tells what happened, like Gran said that dinner was ready, needs none.
Brackets hold only a little extra bit, not the whole story.
Type the opening bracket first, then the closing one.
Try it
How many quotation marks go around spoken words?
What goes inside round brackets?
Which bracket do you type first?
Which keys make a quotation mark?
Answers: 1. Two · 2. A little extra bit · 3. The opening bracket · 4. Shift and the apostrophe key
Try at homeType two or three lines of a story, with the spoken words in quotation marks and one little extra bit in round brackets. Close every one you open, then show a grown-up your story.
For grown-upsAsk your child to read a comic aloud and point at where each voice starts and stops; if a mark is left open, ask them to find its partner.
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