Writing Tips
Punctuating Dialogue
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⸠âThis is a sentence.â
⸠âThis is a sentence with a dialogue tag at the end,â she said.
⸠âThis,â he said, âis a sentence split by a dialogue tag.â
⸠âThis is a sentence,â she said. âThis is a new sentence. New sentences are capitalized.â
⸠âThis is a sentence followed by an action.â He stood. âThey are separate sentences because he did not speak by standing.â
⸠She said, âUse a comma to introduce dialogue. The quote is capitalized when the dialogue tag is at the beginning.â
⸠âUse a comma when a dialogue tag follows a quote,â he said.
âUnless there is a question mark?â she asked.
âOr an exclamation point!â he answered. âThe dialogue tag still remains uncapitalized because itâs not truly the end of the sentence.â
⸠âPeriods and commas should be inside closing quotations.â
⸠âHey!â she shouted, âSometimes exclamation points are inside quotations.â
However, if itâs not dialogue exclamation points can ask be âoutsideâ!
⸠âDoes this apply to question marks too?â he asked.
If itâs not dialogue, can question marks be âoutsideâ? (Yes, they can.)
⸠âThis applies to dashes too. Inside quotations dashes typically expressââ
âInterruptionâ â but there are situations dashes may be outside.
⸠âYouâll notice that exclamation marks, question marks, and dashes do not have a comma after them. Ellipses donât have a comma after them eitherâŚâ she said.
⸠âMy teacher said, âUse single quotation marks when quoting within dialogue.ââ
⸠âUse paragraph breaks to indicate a new speaker,â he said.
âThe readers will know itâs someone else speaking.â
























