Punctuating Dialogue

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What is dialogue punctuation?

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Dialogue punctuation refers to the use of quotation marks, commas, and other punctuation marks to indicate spoken words in writing.

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When do you use quotation marks in dialogue?

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Quotation marks are used to enclose the exact words spoken by a character.

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How do you punctuate a sentence that includes dialogue and a tag?

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You place a comma before the closing quotation mark if the dialogue is followed by a tag (e.g., he said, she asked).

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What is a dialogue tag?

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A dialogue tag is a phrase that attributes the spoken words to a speaker, such as 'he said' or 'she asked.'

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How do you punctuate a question in dialogue?

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If the spoken words are a question, use a question mark inside the quotation marks.

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What is the correct punctuation for this sentence: 'I can't believe it' she said?

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The correct punctuation is: 'I can't believe it,' she said.

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What happens to punctuation when a sentence ends with dialogue?

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If the dialogue ends with a period, the period goes inside the quotation marks.

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How do you punctuate a sentence with interrupted dialogue?

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Use commas to separate the dialogue and the tag, and place the second part of the dialogue in quotation marks.

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What is the rule for capitalizing the first word in dialogue?

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The first word of a complete sentence in dialogue should be capitalized.

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How do you punctuate this sentence: 'I love ice cream' she said 'especially chocolate'?

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The correct punctuation is: 'I love ice cream,' she said, 'especially chocolate.'