Quotation Marks with Dialogue
Essential Question
How do we identify different speakers in our dialogue and punctuate that dialogue correctly?
Grammar in the World
What Do I Know?
Use the interactive below to see how much you already know about using quotation marks with dialogue:
Building Blocks
Grammar is a complex system and structure of language. Mizzou Academy Grammar Lab spotlights one skill (or block) at a time, but it’s often helpful to see how a skill works together with other, related blocks to build the language structure as a whole. You may find the following resource topics helpful as context for this lesson:
Learn About Quotation Marks with Dialogue
You use quotation marks in your writing to indicate when people are talking. Adding dialogue to your writing brings the story you are telling to life and helps your readers connect with your characters. Dialogue can propel the plot forward, develop characterization, and build suspense. Dialogue also breaks up your writing, which helps keep readers interested in what you have to say.
You can add dialogue to your writing in several ways.
At the beginning or end of a sentence:
“I am going to a high school football game tonight. What are you doing this weekend?” Dean asked.
Annika replied, “I will be at the game, too! Maybe I will see you there.”
In the middle of a sentence:
When Annika saw the snake on the path in front of her, she screamed, “No!” and ran away.
When Haylee saw what type of snake it was, she yelled, “It’s not poisonous, Annika!” but Annika kept running anyway.
In a broken quote:
“I think,” Elijah said angrily, “that we should break up.”
“I think,” Julia retorted, “that’s a great idea,” and then she turned on her heel and stomped away.
Follow these rules when you are punctuating dialogue in your writing.
- Indent each new line of dialogue.
“We are having a baby girl!”
“Congratulations! That is so exciting!”
- Begin a new line each time a different character speaks.
“What would you like for dessert?
“I would like chocolate chip cookies and milk.”
- When the dialogue is a complete sentence that comes before or after a speech tag, capitalize the first letter of the dialogue.
“What has been your favorite job?” the interviewer asked.
Jennifer responded, “My favorite job was being a children’s librarian.”
- If the dialogue begins the sentence, is interrupted by a speech tag, and then continues, capitalize the first letter of dialogue but not the second part that comes after the speech tag.
“I probably watch too many TikTok videos,” Kezia said sheepishly, “but in my defense, I also read a lot of books.”
“Well, I probably watch too much Netflix,” Elijah responded, “but I am a fan of reading, too.”
- Place commas, periods, question marks, and exclamation points inside the ending quotation mark.
“I like to listen to podcasts when I go on a walk in the morning,” Adrienne said.
“What are your favorite ones to listen to?” Daichi asked.
- Use single quotation marks when the dialogue contains a quotation within a quotation.
Brady said, “I know Gabriella said, ‘I am not feeling sick,’ but she sure didn't look like she felt very well.”
Sam announced, “When I asked Remy to marry me, she said ‘Yes’!”
Speech Tag
Another tool that comes in handy when punctuating dialogue is the speech tag. Speech tags help us show who is speaking and how they are speaking.
For example, we have our commonly used tags:
- she said
- he asked
- they wondered
- she yelled
- he whispered
- they cried
You can also get more creative in your speech tag. Your goal is to identify who is speaking and give readers a good idea of how they are saying it.
- she advised
- he apologized
- they blurted out
- she teased
- he mumbled
- they scolded
You will want to use speech tags sparingly. Often, your narration and characterization can do the job of telling us how someone is speaking. Still, speech tags are a good way to draw attention to a quote.
Do I Get It?
Use the interactive below to see how much you've learned about quotation marks with dialogue: