Punctuation in composite sentences with direct speech
When the author’s words and the direct speech are arranged differently, the punctuation is as follows. 1) M: «K». M: «K?» M: «K!» – a colon after the author’s words, the direct speech in quotation marks beginning with a capital letter. 2) M: «K», – m. M: «K?» – m. M: «K!» – m. 3) «K», – m. «K?» – m. «K!» – m. – a comma at the end of the direct speech (or a question or exclamation mark if there is one), then a dash, and the author’s words begin with a lowercase letter. 4) «K, – m, – k» – when the author’s words come in the middle, dashes go on both sides, a comma after the first piece, and the second piece begins with a lowercase letter. If the direct speech is given on a new line, no quotation marks are used and a dash is put at its start.
“Punctuation master”: the teacher gives a sentence without marks; pupils choose one of the four patterns and put in the marks.