Giving Your Character Life By Using Quotation Marks Punctuating Dialogue Giving Your Character Life By Using Quotation Marks ©2014HappyEdugator

Using Quotation Marks in Dialogue Use quotation marks to enclose a direct quotation – a person’s exact words. Our team leader says, “I try to practice every day.” “Let’s go home,” Jeanne suggested. ©2014HappyEdugator

Direct Quotations A directly quoted sentence begins with a capital letter. Mrs. Talbot said, “Please get a pencil.” Kristina asked, “Is it my turn?” ©2014HappyEdugator

Split Dialogue When an expression identifying the speaker interrupts a quoted sentence, the second part of the quotation begins with a lowercase letter. “Will you take care of my lawn and pets,” asked Mr. Franklin, “while I’m on vacation next month?” * The expression identifying the speaker is called a speaker’s tag. ©2014HappyEdugator

Split Dialogue If a quoted sentence is divided, a comma usually follows the first part and comes before the second part. “Oh,” Donna commented, “he’s probably just saying that because he’s never had a cat.” ©2014HappyEdugator

Quote at the Beginning… If a quotation mark comes at the beginning of a sentence, a comma, question mark, or exclamation point usually follows it. “Dogs make better pets than cats do,” said Jared. “Have you ever had a cat?” Emily asked. “No, and I never will!” he replied. ©2014HappyEdugator

Quote at the End… If a quotation comes at the end of a sentence, a comma usually comes before it. Terra asked, “What makes you say that?” ©2014HappyEdugator

Punctuation inside Quotes A period or a comma should always be placed inside the quotation marks. “I can’t wait to see Shirley Caesar’s new video,” James said. “It’s supposed to come out next week.” ©2014HappyEdugator

The Exception to the Rule A question mark or an exclamation point should be placed inside closing quotation marks when the quotation itself is a question or an exclamation. Otherwise, it should be placed outside. If placed on the outside, no punctuation inside is required. “What time will you be home from work, Mom?” asked Michael. Who said, “All the world’s a stage”? “Stop!” yelled the crossing patrol. What a surprise to hear Susana say, “We’re moving back to Puerto Rico in June”! ©2014HappyEdugator

Don’t Be Afraid to Use Dialogue in Your Writing! Just be sure to use it thoughtfully. Make every word a character says count. Never overuse dialogue. It should be supplemental to the description, and not take over the whole composition.

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