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Dialogue, or reported speech between several people
or characters, is commonly enclosed in quotation marks and set off
with commas from the rest of the sentence. Most commonly, each new
speaker begins a new paragraph.
• “I don’t think I like Mrs.
Schwein-Bazel,” said Daisy with a heavy sigh. “Yesterday, she poked
me in the shoulder with her ugly red ruler.”
Ginger nodded. “Do you think,” she asked
in a tinny voice, “that she’s
a witch?”
Daisy thought carefully and then replied,
“I would expect a witch to have
more warts.”
Beginning Quotations
A quotation may or may not start a sentence. Either
way, a complete sentence should start with a capital letter.
• “Why, pray tell, did you give me a
giant stuffed cactus for Christmas?” asked Julia.
• Her mother spat back, “Because you’re
as prickly as a cactus thorn.”
Be sure to put the comma after a word like said or replied outside
the opening quotation mark.
Ending QuotationS
If the quotation ends the sentence, then keep its original
punctuation. The sentence will end with the closing quotation mark.
• Julia remarked, “But a stuffed cactus
isn’t really very prickly, is it?”
• Julia shouted, “You’re insufferable!”
• Julia pulled herself together. “I am
leaving.”
If the quotations ends in a period, change that period
to a comma if the sentence keeps going after the closing quotation
mark. Do not change exciting end punctuation like question marks
and exclamation points, even if the sentence keeps going.
• “Don’t you agree, Mr. Tweely?” asked
Emily with a sly smile.
• “Absolutely not!” he replied.
• “A pity,” replied Emily coolly.
Unfinished Speech
Use an ellipsis to indicate that a speaker has trailed
off.
• “I don’t think . . . That is, I’d prefer
to come back later.”
• “She hesitated. “Well, if you wish
. . . ”
Use a dash to indicate an interruption or an abrupt
stop.
• “Actually, my parents hate—” Sarah
caught herself. “I’ll tell them you stopped by.”
Spelling Out
Spell out most words in dialogue. In particular, spell
out all numbers.
• “I gave her seventy-five dollars to
pay for the damages, but she still wouldn’t return Fluffy!”
If the dialogue involves complicated numbers, it may
be clearer to use numerals.
• “I paid him $135.26 to get his phone
number: 095-386-2947.”
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