Dialogue Rules

1. Use quotation marks around words that are said out loud.  

Example: “It’s sure cold out here,” Mark said. 

Example: “It’s so breezy outside!” Mrs. Joseph exclaimed.  

2. Start a new paragraph EVERY time the person speaking changes.

“I really don’t know,” he said.

“Me neither...” she added.

The teacher chimed in, “One of you should know. Re-read paragraph 6, and think about it again.” The students looked at each other and responded with nods and frowns.

 3. Separate dialogue from the rest of the sentence with a comma. If the dialogue comes first, the comma goes with the dialogue. If dialogue comes second, the comma goes with the sentence.  

Example with dialogue first:
“I hate rainy days,” sighed Mario. 

“Really? I love rainy days,” Allie replied.  

Example with sentence before dialogue:
Chris complained, “I hate rainy days.” 

Allie replied, “I love rainy days!” 

4. If a question is a part of the dialogue, it goes inside
the quotation marks. 

Example: She looked at me and asked, “Are you alright?”  
Example: “Are you sure she wants two paragraphs?” I asked. 

• Go to Canvas -> then click Advanced English II -> then Discussion

• Post at least five sentences to incorrectly punctuate dialogue. ​​

• Then, reply to someone else's post to correct the punctuation in their dialogue.

• If you finish early, start your grasp in Canvas!

• Forgot the rules? Look at this cheat sheet: Dialogue Rules