![]() “Yes, I was invited to the football game but I wasn’t able to go,” James said. This helps the reader understand someone new is speaking. If you have several speakers, start a new paragraph each time the speaker changes. Start dialogue for new speakers in a new paragraph Related: 4 Main Types of Sentences: When To Use Them and Why 5. “I was so disappointed I missed the football game!” James said. “Were you invited to the football game?” Teresa asked James. Teresa told James, “I heard you were invited to the football game.” “I heard you were invited to the football game,” Teresa told James. This includes question marks and exclamation points, as well as periods and commas. Regardless of what punctuation you use to end your dialogue, you should put it inside the closing quotation mark. Place punctuation inside the quotation marks Related: A Complete Guide to Effective Written Communication 4. You would use the exclamation point whether the dialogue tag is before or after the dialogue. Question marks: Use a question mark when the speaker is asking a question, regardless of where the dialogue tag is placed in the sentence.Įxclamation points: Use an exclamation point when the speaker is shouting, excited or surprised. Periods: If the dialogue tag comes before the quotation then you would use a period before the closing quotation mark.Ĭommas: If the dialogue tag comes after the quotation then use a comma before the closing quotation mark. The most common punctuation marks you’ll use with dialogue are commas and periods, but you might also use question marks and exclamation points. Use common punctuation marks with quotations ![]() Related: Writing Style Guides: The Main Types and Their Differences 3. “Richard invited me to the football game but I wasn’t able to go,” James said. “Richard invited me to the football game,” James said, “but I wasn’t able to go.” James said, “Richard invited me to the football game but I wasn’t able to go.” If you place the tag in the middle of a complete sentence then you do not capitalize the first word of the second part of the quotation. You can place the dialogue tag before, after or in the middle of the quoted dialogue. The dialogue tag tells us who is speaking. Related: 31 Common Grammar Mistakes (With Examples and Corrections) 2. ![]() Quotation marks show your reader when a character is speaking and they separate speech from the rest of the text. Your dialogue should start and end with quotation marks. Related: The Creative Writing Process: 6 Tips How to punctuate dialogue correctlyįollow these steps to correctly punctuate dialogue: 1. You would then use common punctuation marks within the quotation marks, such as commas, periods, question marks and exclamation points. Dialogue will usually include a dialogue tag to describe who is speaking. What kind of punctuation do you use with dialogue?ĭialogue is punctuated by quotation marks to show when it begins and ends. In this article, we explain how to punctuate dialogue correctly and offer examples of what proper dialogue punctuation looks like. Because the rules are different, depending on where and how the dialogue is being quoted, it’s important to be familiar with the basic rules of how to quote dialogue in written form. ![]() We use quotation marks when writing out dialogue, but also commas, as well as closing punctuations. An illustration of a person speaking while holding a book, perhaps for reference.ĭialogue is used in written materials whenever quoting spoken words, such as a speech or interview or in an original story. ![]()
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