THE BOYS' BRIGADE

There are 3 simple rules to punctuating dialogue, and a few more complicated rules only strict grammarians really understand, but you’ll be sure to run in to them when it’s least convenient. I’ll assist you with the simple ones, as well as a few of those obscure ones.

The 3 Simple Rules to Punctuating Dialogue

1. Punctuate from the Inside. Almost always place the period, question mark, or exclamation point on the INSIDE of the quotation marks. Example:

Tom said, “I will not tolerate this!”

2. Commas before quotes. When introducing a quote with the “he said/she said” manner, the comma comes after the “said” or whatever word you’ve chosen to use (be it asked, cried, shouted, etc). The point is that the comma goes AFTER the introduction to the dialogue and BEFORE the quotation mark. Example:

Jennifer whined tearfully, “But I never meant to hurt you.”

3. New person, new paragraph. When a new person speaks, you must begin a new paragraph. If someone speaks, and then you close the quotations and have more to say in your own words, you do not have to start a new paragraph as long as that same person speaks again (as is seen below), BUT you must start a new paragraph when a new speaker begins talking. Example:

Tom said, “I will not tolerate this!” He looked at Jennifer and wondered if she would begin crying. He then yelled, “You hurt ME! Why are YOU crying?”

Jennifer whined tearfully, “But I never meant to hurt you.”

Now that you know the basics that will get you through most of your dialogue needs, you might want to consider some troublesome, grey areas that people often run into.

Don’t use a comma before the dialogue if you’re not explicitly introducing someone speaking. Examples:

* DO use a comma before the quotes here:

Jake said, “This party is really swell.”

* Do NOT use a comma before the quotes here:

Jake referred to the party as “swell.” (in this case, you are merely finishing the sentence but trying to denote that “swell” is the actual word Jake used, so no comma is necessary)

The only time punctuation goes outside the dialogue is when the sentence surrounding the dialogue requires different punctuation than that of the dialogue. Example:

Did he just say, “Don’t go in there yet”? (Here, the question “Did he just say” requires a question mark, but “Don’t go in there yet” does not, so the question mark goes on the outside of the quotes)

Use apostrophes for quotes within quotes. Example:

Donna revealed, “I overheard Beth say, ‘I can’t stand Donna,’ and that remark really hurt my feelings.” (Try to avoid quotes within quotes within quotes, but if you can’t, use quotation marks again)

Don’t capitalize the first letter of a quote that completes a previously started quote in the same sentence. Example:

“It really hurts,” John admitted, “but I’ll survive.”

I hope this little tutorial was hopeful, and if someone tells you otherwise about what I've shared here, you can quote me on it!