Dialogue
Name______________________________________________ Period____
Rules for Writing and Punctuating Dialogue
From: http://www5.semo.edu/english/taweb/content/dialogue_rules.htm
See also pages 71-74 in A Pocket Style Manual by Diane Hacker.
RULE #1: A direct quotation begins with a capital letter.
Jimmy shouted, “See you at the game!”
“Is it true?" asked Cindy.
RULE #2: When a quotation is interrupted into two parts with words like “he asked” or
“the teacher demanded,” the second part begins with a lower case letter.
“What are some of the things,” Mrs. Baskin inquired, “that make school so much
fun?”
“One thing I like,” replied Sarah, “is recess!”
RULE #3: When writing dialogue, all punctuation marks at the end of the quotation go
inside the quotation marks.
“Let's visit the museum,” suggested Samantha.
Jon replied, “Didn't we go there last weekend?”
“But when we did,” Beth added, “we didn't see the Ancient Egyptian exhibit.”
RULE #4: Do not put a period at the end of a quotation followed by things like she said,
mom asked, he explained, etc. Use commas, question marks, and exclamation marks but not
periods. Periods end sentences.
“My Algebra class is driving me crazy!” Paul yelled.
“That's my favorite class,” Becky replied.
RULE #5: Make a new paragraph (indent) when a different person begins to speak.
"Last night, I dreamt that I ate a giant marshmallow," Kevin said.
"Was that anything like the dream you had about eating your way through a
mountain of fruit cocktail?" asked Suzy.
"Scarier," Kevin explained. "This time I woke up and my pillow was gone."
Dialogue: Punctuation, Capitalization, Spacing
From: http://mrbraiman.home.att.net/page25.html
The following sentences illustrate the punctuation and capitalization rules for dialogue and
speech tags, with the trouble spots in bold.
1. Steve said, "Good morning."
2. "Good morning," said Steve.
3. Steve said, "Good morning," then sat down.
4. "Ladies and gentlemen," said Steve, "good morning."
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Dialogue
However, if the quoted sentence ends in a question mark (?) or exclamation point (!), and
the sentence continues after the quote, the question mark or exclamation point does not change to
a comma, the first letter of the first word after the quote is still lower case, and the overall
sentence still ends in a period:
"Where did they go?" she asked.
"Unbelievable!" shouted the announcer.
Quotation Marks: Exercise
Brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab
In the following sentences put in quotation marks wherever they are needed, and underline words
where italics are needed.
1. Mary is trying hard in school this semester, her father said.
2. No, the taxi driver said curtly, I cannot get you to the airport in fifteen minutes.
3. I believe, Jack remarked, that the best time of year to visit Europe is in the spring. At least
that's what I read in a book entitled Guide to Europe.
4. My French professor told me that my accent is abominable.
5. She asked, Is Time a magazine you read regularly?
6. Flannery O'Connor probably got the title of one of her stories from the words of the old
popular song, A Good Man Is Hard to Find.
7. When did Roosevelt say, We have nothing to fear but fear itself?
8. It seems to me that hip and cool are words that are going out of style.
9. Yesterday, John said, This afternoon I'll bring back your book Conflict in the Middle East;
however, he did not return it.
10. Can you believe, Dot asked me, that it has been almost five years since we've seen each other?
11. A Perfect Day for Bananafish is, I believe, J. D. Salinger's best short story.
12. Certainly, Mr. Martin said, I shall explain the whole situation to him. I know that he will
understand.
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