Direct speech writing rules in English
www.crownacademyenglish.com › direct-speechJan 07, 2019 · Reporting clause before the direct speech. The reporting clause of direct speech is the short clause that indicates who is talking. It is the clause that is outside of the inverted commas. It is therefore not the words being spoken. We can write the reporting clause either before or after the direct speech. If the reporting clause is before the direct speech, we write it as follows: