The dialogue tag has no wiki summary.
30
votes
3answers
2k views
Why does the multi-paragraph quotation rule exist?
The answer to this question clearly explains the standard rule that when you have multiple quoted paragraphs, each new paragraph starts with an opening quotation mark, but only the final quoted ...
5
votes
3answers
453 views
Ironic phrase like Russian’s “no, didn’t hear”
Here’s a bit of dialogue which I literally translated from Russian:
― You should get a girlfriend!
― Girlfriend? Didn’t hear. . . .
The idea of the answer is to self-ironically point out ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
How should I use quotation marks in sections of multiline dialogue?
If I want to introduce a “pause” between lines of dialogue from the same person by inserting a spacing line, how should I use the quotation marks correctly to indicate continued dialogue? I really ...
4
votes
3answers
270 views
Is there a difference between “Joe said” and “said Joe”?
Does the subject/verb order make a difference when writing a dialog tag?
"The sky is blue," Joe said.
"The sky is blue," said Joe.
Is one preferable over the other? Does one emphasize the ...
4
votes
1answer
224 views
Term for Indirect Dialogue
There are two different types of dialogue I'm aware of, that for the moment I'll refer to as 'direct' dialogue and 'indirect' dialogue. However, I know these terms aren't the correct ones, and it's ...
4
votes
1answer
205 views
Differentiating comma/period use in mid-dialogue
Best shown by example:
(From Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)
"But I still felt bad," she went on. "So I dragged myself all the way to your house later--like an idiot.
"Don't worry," I ...
3
votes
2answers
182 views
About using said in dialogue
I want to know if there are any rules regarding using said before or after a name. For example,
"I am going to the bank," said John.
or
"I am going to the bank," John said.
Which is ...
2
votes
1answer
358 views
What is the origin of “uh”, “um”, “erm” and “er”?
This question may be a better fit on linguistics.SE, but it pertains specifically to English fillers. Also, the question may have a more straightforward answer than what I'm expecting.
TL;DR: Are ...
1
vote
2answers
132 views
Term for the identification of the person speaking in a dialogue
Consider the following piece of dialogue:
Peter: Hello, Mary! How do you do?
Mary: Hi, Peter! Fine, and you?
What is the term for the part in bold, the specification of who is to speak a ...
1
vote
3answers
501 views
Reported speech question
What would be the indirect speech form of the following sentence?
John told Sean, "Let me help you"
(It's not a homework question, I'm preparing for my exam tomorrow. I just stumbled upon this ...
