Level up your writing skills in English - Dialogue Punctuation
A guide for those whose first language is not English (pro tips at the end)
Well, this is maybe the most that the new authors struggle with. As any other language, English also has its own rules for dialogues and I bet you could find them on the net as well, but if you want it short - here I am.
First things first, we use ‘’ and “” for dialogues in English and never ‘—‘ or ‘–‘ or spaces or just ‘start new line’. We need to indicate the people are speaking. ‘’ - for thoughts and “” - for speaking.
‘I was dancing with him.’ - I understand it’s in the character’s head.
“I was dancing with him.” - I understand the character says it out loud.
The next part is punctuation. I know, a lot of you maybe struggle with all these commas and no commas at the end, at the beginning, dialogue tags and stuff, but, believe me, it’s not as hard as it seems. So, what is important to remember is that we use commas with things that we do with our mouth or verbally and full stops with actions.
“It was quite interesting,” she said.
Look, comma is inside the “” and ‘said’ is something she does with her mouth or verbally.
“It was not so easy.” She moved closer to the table.
Look, full stops is inside the “” and ‘she’ is written in the capital, because ‘she moved closer to the table’ is not something she could do with her mouth or verbally.
Also, do not forget to start each character’s speaking from the new line, so it doesn’t look like a mess.
“I came here from the north.” He put his gloves on the table.
“Me too,” she agreed.
Look, 2 characters speaking, each of them having their own line. Also, notice that the first one is doing action, which is why there’s a full stop at the end, and the second one is agreeing - which is something we could do with our mouth or verbally and - which is why we have comma at the end.
The other thing to remember is that ‘…’ is not interrupting. It’s about the words slowly fading as the character speaks. If you want to show that the person was interrupted - use ‘—‘.
“I wasn’t sure whether to go…” Jake answered.
Look, there’s no comma or full stop at the end of “” and I understand that Jake’s voice becomes quieter and quieter as he speaks, showing that he’s really unsure of what to do next.
“I wasn’t sure wheth—“
“I will tell you!” she shouted.
Look, there’s no comma or full stop at the end of “” and I understand that the character is interrupted. Also, take a look at the second line: there’s an exclamation mark inside “”, but she is written with the small letter - yes, because shouted is something you do with your mouth or verbally.
One more thing: if your sentence finished with ! or ? there’s no need to add a full stop or comma at the end or after “”, ‘’.
That’s it for beginners. Practice with those above to sharpen your writing skills. Yes, you may think it’s too easy and want more, but believe me - I’m also using the rules above and rarely use the rules I’m gonna tell next in my own writing. Make small things look good first and then go to bigger things.
Well, my fellows, who are professionals in writing dialogues and the tips above were like a baby talk to you, fasten your seatbelts, you’re gonna find out some more tricks (I hope).
Okay, first things first, ‘’ and “” could be interchangeable. If you want to write thoughts in “” - you’re welcome, but don’t forget your choice for the rest of the story, so the readers are not messed up with what’s thought and what’s word:
“I was dreaming,” he thought.
And
‘I was dreaming,’ he thought.
Are both fine.
Next, using dialogue tags or actions before the words themselves:
Jake answered quietly, “What if I got it wrong?”
She pressed her hand to his chest. “It can’t be.”
It’s also okay. Just mind the punctuation: commas are for dialogue tags (mouth or verbally) and full stops for actions.
Depending on what you choose for your story, we use ‘’ inside “” and “” inside ‘’:
“I was surprised by ‘his’ behavior,” she stated.
If you have prolonged dialogue tag or action with dialogue tag, the tag should always come directly to the sentence (it’s easier to avoid any extra punctuation drama):
He answered quietly, smiling, “Of course.”
Julie laughed and asked, “What’s that?”
“I want this,” she replied, walking down the street.
There’s a difference when the words are interrupted by dialogue tag or action:
“We’d rather,” Jake said and lifted his arm, “win this auction.”
“I’ll never”—she pressed her finger to his chest—“let you do this!”
But personally I never use this rule, cause it’s just hard to punctuate and I believe that non-English readers may find it too hard to understand.
Well, that’s all for now, thanks for reading and I hope that was useful! <3
Level up your writing skills in English - Stories in Past Tense
A guide for those whose first language is not English
When speaking about past, the main and most used tense is past simple, which in turn is -ed and 2nd form changing, e.g. arrived, watched, saw, went, etc. What is important to remember is that not all words in English are formed by simply adding -ed at the end. So, what you need is to double check word’s past form. You could just google it in case you forget.
Now, let’s talk about when and how we’re going to use them as well as a few more:
I worked/We slept - to show actions that happened one after another, usually the main tense to tell the story as the things just happened in the past and that’s it (e.g. they woke up and went to school; my friend saw a squirrel on the tree).
She’s dancing/They’re swimming - looks familiar, but ‘s and ‘re in this case are was and were, so don’t worry - use it to show and describe the background of the scene (e.g. the sun was shining; the birds were singing) OR when you have 2 actions in the past happening at the same time and 1 of them is longer than the other (e.g. I was playing XBOX when my mum came (my mum came when I was playing - 2 actions at the same time, mum came at the moment I was playing)).
You’d been/He’d been - when you have 2 actions and it’s important to show that one of them happened before the other - usually used with the words after/before (e.g. I had eaten my lunch before I did my homework (I ate my lunch first, then I did my homework)).
Speaking of other past forms, there’s no am/is/are or will - as well as can/must - in past. We don’t use them to tell the story in the past. You should use was/were, would, could, had to, might, etc. If you struggle, don’t hesitate to look up in the dictionary. It will save your writing.
Also, there’s no today, tomorrow, this week, etc. in past tense stories. All you write about has already happened, so you should use yesterday, a minute ago, last night, last week, in 1987, etc.
And rules above do not apply to the dialogues as well:
“I’m so tired,” he said.
That’s all I could remember for now, but if you have any questions - feel free to ask anytime. Let me know if it was helpful, thanks <3
Level Up your writing skills in English - Stories in Present Tense
A guide for those whose first language is not English
Tenses you could use in the narrative:
I work/He works - to show the general facts, routines and permanent situations (e.g. we go to school every day; there’s a nice garden in our city; the sky is usually dark before the rain).
I’m working/She’s working/They’re working - to show temporary situations or something happening now (e.g. she’s studying at the library now; we’re living with our parents this week).
I’ve done/It’s done - to show something has already finished by the time it’s said and it has an impact at the present or is somehow connected to the present (e.g. we’ve just had lunch (the empty plates on the table once were full); they haven’t landed yet (they took off and they’re still in the air at the moment we speak)) OR to tell about experience (e.g. it’s the best cake I’ve ever tried; we’ve never been in this place before).
She’s been doing/We’ve been doing - to show something that started in the past and continues till now during the time we speak (e.g. I’ve been looking for my glasses since morning (now it’s afternoon and I haven’t found my glasses yet); they’ve been watching TV for 5 hours (and they’re still watching at the moment I’m saying that).
You could as well use Future forms/tenses for narratives while writing in Present Tense. Look:
The train leaves/comes at 5 - to talk about timetables (e.g. the lessons start at 5).
My friends and I are going to the mountains next week - to talk about things you’ve already decided to do but haven’t planned yet (e.g. I’m going to wear dress at the party (I know I’m going to the party because I’ve already decided that, but I don’t know what dress or what shoes I’m going to wear)).
We’re having a party this week - to talk about plans (e.g. they’re moving to New York (they’ve not just decided to go, but also have already bought tickets and packed their things - they have already planned everything and they know exactly when, how, where and who)).
It’ll rain tomorrow - to show predictions, promises, momentum decisions (e.g. I’ll go to the shop (it’s just a thought, I don’t know if I go or not - it’s just a thought that came to my mind, nothing specific); she’ll come (I promise); it’s cold - I’ll close the window (I didn’t plan to be cold, I got cold now, so I’ll close the window).
While writing the stories in present tense, avoid words like was, were, had, arrived, wanted, etc. in the narrative. These are all past tense.
The rule above doesn’t apply to the dialogues. You don’t need to switch character’s words to present if they say something in the past:
“I was at school,” he says and sits at the table.
That’s all I could remember for now. If it was helpful, please let me know, I’m preparing a post about past tense too. Let’s level up your writing a little bit <3
Hi there! It’s my blog for sharing my own thoughts about writing. I write on A03 and I sometimes share some tips, ideas, motivation or related thoughts and feelings. All of them are my personal unpopular opinion, but if you found it helpful or it resonated with you somehow, I’d be glad to know ;)
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