

After the comma is a space, followed by the quotation marks for the dialogue. When the tag comes first, it's followed by a comma. If you choose to add a tag that identifies the speaker, you'll also need to use a comma to connect your tag to the dialogue. He thought, “I just can’t stand this anymore.” I can’t stand this anymore, I thought to myself. Typically, first person works will use italics, but a third person work might use either. You can also put the tag before a line of dialogue:Īfter helping herself to three slices, my mother said, "I love French toast."įor internal dialogue, you can use quotation marks or italics to set it off, depending on the situation. The informative tag at the end is not part of what she said, so it does not get quotation marks. Note that only the words spoken aloud by the mother are in quotation marks.

Who just said what? You may wish to add extra information to let the reader know who is speaking. While it's fine to have only the spoken words in quotes, too many sentences like this can become confusing. This use of quotation marks lets the reader know that someone said "I love French toast" out loud. Place them around the exact words your character speaks, but not around any tags that identify the speaker. Quotation marks (" ") are the key to writing clear dialogue. Now, that you’ve seen dialogue in action through famous examples, learn how you can write your own. Winning.won’t help in my case," says Peeta. She can’t turn you down then, eh?" says Caesar encouragingly. “I don’t know, but a lot of boys like her," says Peeta. But I’m pretty sure she didn’t know I was alive until the reaping." I’ve had a crush on her ever since I can remember. Explore this example from The Hunger Games that exemplifies a dramatic change that happens between the two characters when Peeta reveals his crush during an interview.
