I read somewhere that you should always add a comma after "said" and quotation marks around whatever word comes after "said," no matter how short the phrase is. Is this entirely true? Here's what I mean:
"He said, 'Yes.'"
Are the comma and quotation marks really necessary? How about in this example:
"I'm sorry I didn't say, 'Please.'"
Would a comma and quotation marks always go after "said" no matter how short the phrase is?