Quotation Marks in Dialogue

Dialogue is a powerful tool in writing. It allows characters to speak, express emotions, and move the story forward. To make dialogue clear and professional, knowing how to use quotation marks in dialogue correctly is essential.

In this article, you will learn how to correctly use quotation marks in dialogue, rules for using quotation marks in dialogue with examples, and some tips to improve your writing when using these punctuation marks writing dialogues.

What are Quotation Marks in Dialogue?

Quotation marks in dialogue are puctuation marks used to show the exact words spoken by a character. In other words, words enclosed inside the quotation mark is a dialogue spoken by a character.  Quotation marks show where the sentence starts and where it ends. For example;

• “I’m going to the market,” said Sarah.

In this sentence, words spoken by Sarah are enclose inside the quotation marks.

Rules for Using Quotation Marks in Dialogue

Here are the basic rules that you should learn while using quotation marks in dialogue.

1. Use quotation marks to enclose only the words spoken by a character, not the whole sentence. For instance

• “it’s a beautiful day,” she said.

2. Always capitalize the first word of the dialogue. For example

• “How are you?” he asked.

3. Other punctuation marks like commas or question marks always go inside the quotation marks. For example;

• “I can’t believe it,” he said.

Placement of Punctuation with Quotation Marks in Dialogue

Knowing where to place punctuation is key to mastering quotation marks in dialogue.

Commas and Periods

Commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks. For example:

• “I’ll be there soon,” she said.
• “It’s time to leave.”

Question Marks and Exclamation Marks

These depend on the meaning of the sentence. 

If the question or exclamation mark is part of the dialogue, then we will place the question mark or exclamation point inside the quotation mark. Here is an example:

• “Are you coming?” she asked.

However, if the punctuation (question or exclamation mark) applies to the whole sentence, then the quotation mark is placed before the question mark or exclamation mark. Here is an example:

• Did she really say, “I don’t care”?

I hope this article helped you to learn how to use quotation marks in dialogue. 

If you liked it, please subscribe to our newsletter for more articles on grammar, vocabulary, and language learning.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for the latest updates.