Giving Your Character Life
Through the Spoken Word
©2012HappyEdugator

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.
©2012HappyEdugator

A directly quoted sentence begins with a
capital letter.

Mrs. Talbot said, “Please get a pencil.”

Kristina asked, “Is it my turn?”
©2012HappyEdugator
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.
©2012HappyEdugator
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.”
©2012HappyEdugator
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.

©2012HappyEdugator
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?”
©2012HappyEdugator
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.”
©2012HappyEdugator
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.




“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”!
©2012HappyEdugator
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.