ANSWER: Dialogue Tags Before Speech

[ariestess]

starry_diadem asked, "How do you punctuate and capitalize when the dialogue tag comes before the speech?"
With examples from Once Upon a Time

So what is a dialogue tag anyway? In the simplest terms, this is the whole "he said/she said" bit of your dialogue. There are variations, of course, for those of us who like to spice it up a little. And let's not get into the whole debate of whether that's a good thing or not, since that's a topic for another time.

Dialogue tags, or speech tags, can come in four different places: before the speech, surrounding the speech, in the middle of the speech, and at the end of the speech. In all four variations, the first word of the actual dialogue is always capitalized. For the purposes of this article, I'm going to work with these four options in reverse order.

While we're working with punctuation and capitalization at the beginning of the sentence, let's also look at the proper way to use the speech tags in the middle and end of the sentence.

There is one thing to remember with the dialogue tag coming in the middle or end of the speech. Even though
what is said is a sentence in its own right, it is also part of the sentence that includes the dialogue tag. Said is a transitive verb and needs an object; the object is the words that are spoken, so if the dialogue tag is 'he said', they should never be separated from that by a full stop.

• Dialogue tag at the end of the speech
  There are three main forms of punctuation that end the dialogue before this tag: comma, question mark, and exclamation mark. Never use a period to separate the end of a piece of dialogue and the beginning of a tag.
  

  "Honeycrisp apples are the hardiest of all apples," Regina said.
  
  "Did you know that Honeycrisp apples are the hardiest of all the apple varieties, Miss Swan?" the mayor asked.
  
  "Didn't anyone ever teach you how to share?" she asked, plucking an apple from the basket.
  
  "Do not touch my apple tree!" Regina yelled.
  
  "This isn't over yet!" she yelled.

• Dialogue tag in the middle of the speech
  This tag is bracketed by commas on either side. In this variation, the first word of the second half of the dialogue [after the tag] will not be capitalized since it's the continuation of the sentence.
  

  "What difference does it make," Emma asked, "if I accept your invitation now or later?"
  
  "Thank you, Miss Swan," Regina said, combing her sodden hair out of her eyes, "for saving my life again."
  
  "When we found the jewelry box," the sheriff said, "we had it dusted for prints."

• Dialogue tag surrounding the speech
  This third option is a special case because it combines traits of both the starting and ending dialogue tags.
  

  Regina said, "Thank you, Miss Swan," combing her sodden hair out of her eyes.
  
  Emma said, "You know, you're a pretty neat kid," and smiled at Henry.

• Dialogue tag at the beginning of the speech
  One thing we want to remember is that the dialogue is a sentence in itself, so it will always begin with a capital letter, even when your dialogue tag comes first. When the dialogue tag comes before the speech, a comma always separates them.
  

  Emma smiled at Henry and said, "You know, you're a pretty neat kid."
  
  Henry replied, "And you're a pretty neat mom."

In the end, there are a couple of things to remember here.

1. Never capitalize the first word of the dialogue tag unless it begins the sentence or is a proper noun.
   
2. Never separate the dialogue from the dialogue tag with a period.

Resources:

• Punctuating Dialogue @ Writing-World.com
  
• Speech Tags
  
• Dialogue tags @ YoungWritersOnline.net
  
• Speech Tags @ The Wrtier's Beat
  
• Dialogue Tags @ edittorent
  
• How to Write Dialogue @ Grammar Girl
  
• He Said, She Said @ Grammar Girl
  

Comments

[wendelah1]

I had to look up the definition of a dialogue tag. LOL.

[starry-diadem.livejournal.com]

Thank you. That's very helpful. I think., though, that I'd always rewrite your third option, where the tag surrounds the speech. It looks a bit clunky!

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that was very helpful. I've often seen a colon used instead of a comma for the fourth option, but I'm glad you don't recommend that!

[ariestess]

Oh dear! I *did* end up forgetting something for this article then.

[ariestess]

Personally, I agree with you, but I wanted to show all possible options that I could think of.

[ariestess]

Really? I don't think I've ever seen a colon used. How interesting...

[wendelah1]

No, no. It's there, underneath the cut. I just didn't look until I googled it. The term I'd always heard was "speaker attributions." Very old skool.

[ariestess]

Ahh! Gotcha.

Not quite on topic but...

[wendelah1]

Check this one out!

The emdash-interruption! This one is a rare find in grammar books, but it's legit. Basically, you insert an action into the middle of a piece of dialogue... without using a speech tag! This one is wild. The best way to explain, really, is to show you: "And so, Captain Almond"--Trumpetpuffer brushed a piece of fur from his uniform--"we have sent your vile crew of nut pirates to Davy Jones' locker!"

That one's so fun to use, I sometimes go out of my way to fit it into sentences. "You don't normally find something in the middle of dialogue," Winterbite said, "unless it's a speech tag." But with this little trick, you get to shove anything you like into the middle of the sentence. Not too much, though, please... our memories might not be good enough to remember where the dialogue left off if you take unfair advantage of this amazing new ability.

Re: Not quite on topic but...

[ariestess]

Oh, I've used that before. Emdashes are my friends...

Re: Not quite on topic but...

[wendelah1]

Yeah, me too. But isn't it cool?! I love punctuation.

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, I'm not sure that I've ever seen it in print, only in fanfiction. I'm ashamed to say I used to think it was an accepted alternative... You know, along the lines of the choice between "Blah blah," said Jim, and "Blah blah," Jim said.

Re: Not quite on topic but...

[ariestess]

I have a couple friends who call me "comma nazi" because of my love of punctuation and such.

[ariestess]

*nods* There are so many things that I see in fanfic that make my grammarian heart break... LOL!

[pathology-doc.livejournal.com]

Typo:

amd at the end of the speech.

Otherwise an excellent and useful article. Thanks. :)

[ariestess]

*facepalm* And now I feel completely embarrassed. Thank you for catching that.

[jellyneau (from livejournal.com)]

Thanks for posting this very helpful guide!!! :)

[ariestess]

You're welcome!