Grammar Worksheet · Grades 6–8
Direct and Indirect Speech Worksheet
A printable grammar worksheet for grades 6-8 on direct and indirect speech. Students sort eight sentences into direct or indirect speech and practice converting between the two, then answer four short questions. A complete answer key is included.
Subject
Grammar
Grades
Grades 6–8
Skill Focus
Direct and Indirect Speech, sentences
Lesson Length
20 minutes
Lesson Overview
About this worksheet
Direct speech quotes a speaker’s exact words inside quotation marks, as in ‘I am tired,’ she said. Indirect or reported speech reports the meaning without quotation marks and usually shifts the verb back in time and changes the pronouns and time words, as in She said that she was tired. This worksheet helps students recognize both forms and move between them.
Section A on page 1 gives eight sentences, and students decide whether each one is direct or indirect speech. The reference box teaches the difference and shows a short Examples block with a matched direct and indirect pair, so the assessed sentences stay independent of the model.
Section B on page 2 asks students which punctuation marks signal direct speech, what happens to the verb tense in indirect speech, and to convert one sentence each way. Page 3 is a complete answer key with sample answers. The skill builds on quotation marks and verb tenses.
How to Use This Lesson
Read the reference box aloud and compare the matched direct and indirect pair.
Complete Section A independently – have students look for quotation marks first.
Discuss how am becomes was and will becomes would when reporting speech.
Use the answer key on page 3 for self-check.
Pair with the Quotation Marks Worksheet or the Verb Tenses Worksheet.
Printable Resource
A classroom-ready PDF with everything in one printable resource.
Full Member Resource · Printable PDF · 3 pages · Answer Key
Direct and Indirect Speech Worksheet
A printable grammar worksheet for grades 6-8 on direct and indirect speech. Students sort eight sentences into direct or indirect speech and practice converting between the two, then answer four short questions. A complete answer key is included.
This is a Full Member resource
Unlock this worksheet — plus 1,000+ printable worksheets with answer keys across every subject and grade K–12. Just $29.99/year, cancel anytime.
See membership options →Keep Exploring Grammar
Related Worksheets
More for Grades 6–8Absolute Phrases Worksheet · Ellipses Worksheet · Farther vs Further Worksheet · Gerund vs. Infinitive Worksheet · Gerunds and Participles Worksheet · Inverted Sentences Worksheet
For Teachers Teaching Sentence Structure →
Want teaching strategies for this lesson?
Read: Teaching Direct and Indirect Speech
How to teach reported speech one change at a time — the backshift, pronoun and time-word shifts, and the question-and-command patterns students get wrong.