Dialogue: how to punctuate it

This article is about dialogue in fiction. We’ll cover quotations in non-fiction another time.

Dialogue is different from plain narrative. It tells the reader directly what a character said, whether they were interrupted, trailed off or completed what they were going to say. It can tell the reader whether the character declared something, asked something or exclaimed something. You, as a writer, can do all this with punctuation, if you know how to use it properly.

How to punctuate dialogue

Dialogue is represented in writing by direct speech. Direct speech is indicated by quotation marks (also called speech marks or quotes). In British publications, except newspapers (OUP 2016), single quotes … are typically used (1). In American publications, double quotes … are typically used (2).

At the end of an utterance (or other quote), commas are like full stops.

In examples (1,2), Sam speaks a complete sentence, so you might expect a full stop (period) at the end of the utterance. However, the utterance is contained within a sentence, so there cannot be a full stop; instead, there is a comma. The comma indicates that the utterance is finished but the sentence containing it continues.

The sentence containing the utterance continues because the writer is using a literary device called a dialogue tag (or a speech tag), which tells the reader who said what: said Sam.

If the sentence containing the utterance is complete (e.g. there is no dialogue tag like said Sam), the comma is replaced with a full stop (3,4) as might be expected. Note that the full stop is inside the closing quotation mark. In (3,4), another literary device called an action beat is used to indicate who spoke: said Sam. An action beat is a snippet of narrative that adds a little extra to the utterance.

The rules illustrated in (1–4) apply even if a complete sentence is not uttered (5–8).

Start a new line each time a different character speaks (9,10). You don’t need a dialogue tag or action beat for every utterance when it’s clear who is speaking.

Starting a new line for each character’s speech helps make it obvious to the reader that a different person is speaking. Think of each utterance, with its dialogue tag and/or action beat, as its own little paragraph.

Another bonus to starting a new line is that it breaks the text up on the page. Large blocks of text can be off-putting to the reader, and a dialogue between characters makes the page more inviting to look at.

How to punctuate interrupted dialogue

Often, an utterance is interrupted. There are two ways for an utterance to be interrupted: by the author and by the story.

The author can interrupt the utterance by using a dialogue tag or action beat.

The story can interrupt the utterance if one character starts speaking over another or if something unexpected occurs.

Dialogue tags and action beats

In British English, if the interruption falls at the end of a sentence, a comma is placed inside the speech mark at the end of the first part of the utterance (11). The second part is punctuated as in (3) and (6).

In British English, if the interruption falls mid-sentence where a comma would naturally fall (e.g. after a sentence adverb or at either end of a defining clause), the comma is placed inside the quotation mark at the end of the first part of the utterance (12). A comma follows the dialogue tag. The second part of the utterance continues with a lower case letter at the start, and it is punctuated at the end as in (3) and (6).

In British English, if the interruption (e.g. said Sam) falls in the middle of a sentence where a comma would not naturally fall, the first part of the utterance has the comma outside the quotation marks (13). A comma follows the speech tag. The second part of the utterance continues with a lower case letter at the start, and it is punctuated at the end as in (3) and (6).

In American English, the comma always falls inside the closing speech mark of the first part of the utterance. The speech tag is followed by a full stop when the first part is a complete sentence (14), otherwise by a comma (15,16). The second part of the utterances is punctuated as in (2) and (8).

If the utterance is interrupted by an action beat, treat each utterance snippet as a separate sentence (17,18) with full stops inside all the closing quotation marks.

Sometimes, an action beat describes what one character is doing while another is talking. In this case, the action beat goes on a new line to indicate the change of character (19,20), like when a different person starts speaking (9,10). Continue the speech on another new line.

Interruptions by other characters and events

Find out how to type an em rule (em dash).

When the character is interrupted by someone else talking or by something unexpected happening, follow the last word with an em rule (em dash), —, with no space on either side, followed by the closing quotation mark (19–22). There is no comma or full stop.

Note that you don’t need to say Sam was interrupted because that’s what the em rule means.

Find out how to type an ellipsis.

Sometimes, a character will stop talking in the middle of an utterance of their own accord. Perhaps they’ve realised they don’t know how to finish their sentence or they don’t want to finish their sentence. An ellipsis, …, at the end of what the character does manage to utter indicates they didn’t finish their sentence (21,23). There is a space after the last word and before the ellipsis. There is no space between the ellipsis and the closing quotation mark.

Ellipses also show pauses in speech (22,24) where the character trails off perhaps to think about where their sentence is going or to correct themselves or to let the person on the other end of the phone speak. There is a space on each side of the ellipsis.

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That covers declarative sentences, where a character states something. But what about questions and exclamations?

How to punctuate questions in dialogue

Questions are indicated with a question mark inside the closing quotation mark (25–32). A question mark denotes the end of a sentence.

Note that if you write a statement, you don’t need to tell the reader it wasn’t a question (33,36): the absence of a question mark is enough to show the reader it’s a statement (34,37).

Other times, a character might ask a question, but structure that question as if it’s a declarative sentence (35,38), perhaps to indicate disbelief on the speaker’s part. The presence of the question mark makes it obvious to the reader, who therefore doesn’t need telling that it’s a question.

How to punctuate exclamations in dialogue

Exclamations should be used very sparingly. Leonard (2001: 33) permits ‘no more than two or three [exclamaion marks (points)] per 100,000 words of prose’, which isn’t very many at all. Using a lot of exclamation marks risks shrieking and melodrama.

Nevertheless, if you do use them, you must use them correctly (39–46). In English, an exclamation mark denotes the end of a sentence.

Exclamation marks are typically not used for questions, but they can be used for rhetorical questions (47,48).

How to punctuate thoughts

When indicating a character’s explicit thoughts, speech marks aren’t used and italics are best avoided (49–52). The end of the thought is denoted by a comma unless a question mark or exclamation mark is required. Notice that the thought tag he thought is all lower case.

49. He looked at the top of the cliff. I can’t do it, he thought.
50. He looked at the top of the cliff. Can I do it? he thought.
51. He looked at the top of the cliff. I can’t do it.
52. He looked at the top of the cliff. Can I do it? he thought.

Explicit thoughts can pop the reader out of the character’s head. Prefer free indirect speech (53,54), where a character’s thoughts form the narrative.

53. He looked at the top of the cliff. He couldn’t do it.
54. He looked at the top of the cliff. Could he do it?

The punctuation is as for normal prose, so, as a bonus, there are no new rules to learn!

Conclusion

It might seem complicated to puncuate dialogue, but once you understand that it’s really all about marking the end of a sentence (whether declarative, interrogative or exclamative) and indicating who said what, it should all fall into place.

References

• Leonard, Elmore 2001 Elmore Leonard’s 10 rules of writing Harper Collins
• Oxford University Press (OUP) 2016 New Oxford Style Manual Oxford OUP