|
 There are rules for
using quotation marks.
1. Begin quotations with a capital letter.
2. If the quote comes
before the person who spoke and tells something, place a comma after the
quote, before the closing quotation mark.
| Example:
"The
world is a very big place with seven continents and four oceans,"
the teacher told the class. |
3. If the quote comes after the person who spoke and tells something,
place the comma after the person who spoke, before the opening quotation
mark.
| Example: Chad explained,
"We live on the continent of North
America." |
4. If the quote comes before the person who spoke and asks something,
place the question mark after the quote, before the closing quotation
mark.
| Example:
"Is
North America a large continent?"
Jane asked. |
5. If the quote comes after the person who spoke and asks something,
place the question mark after the quote, before the closing quotation
mark.
| Example: Mr. Pantane responded,
"Why don't you look it up?" |
6. If the quote comes before the person who spoke and shows strong
emotion, place the exclamation mark after the quote, before the closing
quotation mark.
| Example:
"I know, I know!"
James exclaimed. |
7. If the quote comes after the person who spoke and asks something,
place the exclamation mark after the quote, before the closing quotation
mark.
| Example: Mary interrupted
excitedly, "I
know that North America is the third largest continent!" |
8. A quote separated by the person who spoke is called a split
quotation. Begin the first part of a split quotation with a capital
letter, and end with a comma. Begin the second part of a split quotation
with a lower case letter. Enclose both parts of the split quotation with
quotation marks.
| Example:
"OK
class,"
said the teacher, "tomorrow
we will use the computer and learn more about continents." |
|
Using Dialogue really makes writing
interesting. Quotation marks surround the words that are being spoken.
