Прямая речь часто берётся в кавычки, а слова автора перед ней отделяются двоеточием.

The main noun is речь, which means speech and is a feminine noun in Russian. Because adjectives must agree with the noun they describe, прямая is also feminine singular.

So:

• речь = speech
• прямая речь = direct speech

This is similar to how in English we say direct speech, where direct describes speech.

Берётся comes from the verb браться, which is related to брать. In this sentence, it is used in a passive-like meaning:

• брать = to take
• браться = to be taken, to get put, to be placed in some contexts

So Прямая речь часто берётся в кавычки means something like:

• Direct speech is often put in quotation marks

Russian often uses reflexive verbs ending in -ся / -сь to express something that English would often phrase with a passive:

• Дом строится = The house is being built
• Слова пишутся = The words are written
• Речь берётся в кавычки = Speech is put in quotation marks

This ending shows two things at once:

1. It is 3rd person singular present tense
2. It has the reflexive ending -ся, which becomes -сь / -ся depending on pronunciation and spelling

The base form is браться. Its present-tense form here is:

• берётся = it is taken / it gets put

It is singular because the subject is прямая речь, which is singular.

Because the expression is the idiom брать в кавычки, literally to take into quotation marks, meaning to put in quotation marks.

After в, Russian can use either:

• accusative for motion/direction into something
• prepositional for location in something

Here the idea is dynamic: something is being placed into quotation marks. So Russian uses the accusative:

• в кавычки = into quotation marks

Compare:

• Слово берут в кавычки = The word is put in quotation marks
• Слово уже в кавычках = The word is already in quotation marks

So:

• в кавычки = into quotation marks
• в кавычках = in quotation marks

Кавычки is accusative plural here.

The dictionary form is also кавычки, because this noun is normally used only in the plural, much like some English nouns that are naturally plural, such as scissors.

So:

• кавычки = quotation marks
• в кавычки = into quotation marks

Russian usually talks about quotation marks as a plural set, not as one single mark.

The noun is слово in the singular, but its plural nominative form is слова.

So:

• слово = word
• слова = words

In слова автора, слова is nominative plural, and автора is genitive singular.

This gives the meaning:

• слова автора = the author’s words / the words of the author

This is a very common Russian pattern:

• книга студента = the student’s book
• дом брата = the brother’s house
• слова автора = the author’s words

Because Russian often shows possession or association with the genitive.

So автора is the genitive singular of автор:

• автор = author
• автора = of the author

Thus слова автора literally means:

• words of the author

In English, we would usually say the author’s words or, in grammar terminology, the author’s words / reporting words.

Перед ней means before it or in front of it.

Here ней refers back to прямая речь, which is feminine. Because речь is feminine, the pronoun must also be feminine:

• она = she / it
• ней = her / it after certain prepositions

The preposition перед takes the instrumental case when it means in front of / before in space or sequence.

So:

• перед ней = before it

In this sentence, it means before the direct speech.

Because Russian pronouns change form depending on the preposition and case required.

The preposition перед requires the instrumental case, so the pronoun must be in the instrumental form:

• nominative: она
• accusative/genitive: её
• dative: ей
• instrumental: ею / ней
• prepositional: ней

After prepositions, Russian often uses the н- form in pronouns, so перед ней is the normal form.

So её would be wrong here because перед does not take the accusative or genitive in this meaning.

Because the subject is слова автора, and the head noun there is слова, which is plural.

So the verb must also be plural:

• слово отделяется = the word is separated
• слова отделяются = the words are separated

Even though автора is singular, it is not the subject. The subject is слова.

The base form is отделяться, which means to be separated, to be set off, or to be marked off in this kind of context.

Like берётся, this is another reflexive verb used with a passive-like meaning:

• отделять = to separate
• отделяться = to be separated / to be set off

So:

• слова автора отделяются двоеточием = the author’s words are set off by a colon

Russian often prefers this kind of reflexive construction where English may use a passive.

Because the instrumental case is often used to show the means, tool, or device by which something is done.

Here двоеточием means:

• with a colon
• by a colon

So the sentence is saying that the author’s words before the direct speech are separated by means of a colon.

This is a common pattern:

• писать карандашом = to write with a pencil
• резать ножом = to cut with a knife
• отделять запятой = to separate with a comma
• отделяться двоеточием = to be separated by a colon

Because а is a coordinating conjunction joining two clauses:

• Прямая речь часто берётся в кавычки
• слова автора перед ней отделяются двоеточием

Russian normally puts a comma before а when it connects clauses.

Also, а often suggests a mild contrast or a shift of focus. Here it is not a strong opposition like but in English, but more like:

• and as for
• while
• whereas
• sometimes just and

So the comma is standard.

The word order is natural and explanatory, but Russian word order is more flexible than English.

This sentence presents the two topics clearly:

1. Прямая речь is often put in quotation marks
2. слова автора перед ней are separated by a colon

You could rearrange parts for emphasis, but the given order sounds neutral and textbook-like. For example, Russian can move adverbs and phrases around more freely, but not every version sounds equally natural in a grammar explanation.

So the word order here is best understood as standard instructional Russian.

Yes, absolutely. They are basic punctuation vocabulary.

• кавычки = quotation marks
• двоеточие = colon

A few other useful punctuation words are:

• запятая = comma
• точка = full stop / period
• тире = dash
• вопросительный знак = question mark
• восклицательный знак = exclamation mark

If you are reading grammar explanations in Russian, these words come up very often.