To format dialogue, put the spoken words in double quotation marks, start a new paragraph every time the speaker changes, and keep commas and periods inside the closing quotation mark. A dialogue tag such as “she said” joins the line with a comma, while an action beat is a sentence of its own. Those three rules settle most lines of dialogue in a novel or a short story.
“I heard it,” Mara said.
“I heard it.” Mara set down her cup.
A comma joins speech to a dialogue tag, because “Mara said” finishes the sentence. A period separates speech from an action, because “Mara set down her cup” is a sentence of its own.
The rest of this page is the full reference, with a right and a wrong version of every case: questions, interruptions, long speeches, thoughts, text messages and British style. The fiction rules are the standard American conventions set out in The Chicago Manual of Style (18th edition, 2024), the guide most US book publishers use. A few points are house style, where publishers differ: how to set thoughts and text messages, the form of the ellipsis, numerals in dialogue and italics for other languages. Those are marked below. Quoting dialogue in an essay follows MLA or APA instead, in its own section at the end. For the craft side of dialogue (voice, subtext, what to cut), see how to write dialogue.
Dialogue punctuation at a glance
| Case | Right | Wrong |
|---|---|---|
| CaseTag after the line | Right“It's late,” she said. | Wrong“It's late.” she said. |
| CaseTag before the line | RightShe said, “It's late.” | WrongShe said “It's late.” |
| CaseQuestion with a tag | Right“Is it late?” she asked. | Wrong“Is it late?,” she asked. |
| CaseTag splits one sentence | Right“It's late,” she said, “and cold.” | Wrong“It's late,” she said. “And cold.” |
| CaseTag between two sentences | Right“It's late,” she said. “Go home.” | Wrong“It's late,” she said, “go home.” |
| CaseAction beat | RightShe checked the clock. “It's late.” | WrongShe checked the clock, “It's late.” |
| CaseAn action used as a tag | Right“It's late.” She yawned. | Wrong“It's late,” she yawned. |
| CaseSpeech cut off | Right“It's—” | Wrong“It's—.” |
| CaseNarration breaks into a line | Right“It's”—she yawned—“late.” | Wrong“It's—” she yawned “—late.” |
| CaseSpeech trails off | Right“It's getting…” | Wrong“It's getting—” (a dash reads as cut off) |
| CaseQuote inside dialogue | Right“He said, ‘It's late.’” | Wrong“He said, “It's late.”” |
| CaseOne speaker, two paragraphs | RightNo closing mark until the last paragraph | WrongA closing mark after every paragraph |
| CaseDirect thought | RightIt's late, she thought. | Wrong“It's late,” she thought, in a book where thoughts are in italics |
| CaseDirect address | Right“It's late, Sam.” | Wrong“It's late Sam.” |
| CaseQuoted fragment | RightShe called it “a long day.” | WrongShe called it, “A long day.” |
The four basic rules
Put the spoken words in quotation marks
Only the words a character says aloud go inside the marks. The tag, the action and the rest of the narration stay outside. In a finished manuscript, use curly quotation marks (“ ”) rather than straight ones (" "). Word processors convert them as you type, but text pasted in from a browser or an email often arrives straight, and a page that mixes the two looks unedited.
Right: “We're out of milk,” Dev said from inside the fridge.
Wrong: “We're out of milk, Dev said from inside the fridge.”
Start a new paragraph for each speaker
A paragraph holds one speaker's words and that speaker's actions. When someone else talks, even to say a single word, start a new paragraph. That is how readers follow a long exchange without a tag on every line, and first drafts often break it. An action belongs in the paragraph of the character doing it, so a beat that shows someone else reacting starts a new paragraph too.
Right:
“Did you feed the cat?”
“Twice.”
Ruth looked at the cat, who looked starved. “Twice today?”
Wrong:
“Did you feed the cat?” “Twice.” Ruth looked at the cat, who looked starved. “Twice today?”
Keep commas and periods inside the closing mark
In American English, a comma or period at the end of a quoted line always goes inside the closing quotation mark, whether or not it is part of what was said. A question mark or exclamation point goes inside when it belongs to the spoken words, which in dialogue is nearly always.
Right: “The bus is late again,” Ana said. “Let's walk.”
Wrong: “The bus is late again”, Ana said. “Let's walk”.
Capitalize the first word of the speech
A line of dialogue begins with a capital letter, even when the tag comes first. A tag that follows the line stays lowercase, because it finishes the same sentence (a name in it is still capitalized, of course). A quotation worked into your own sentence as a fragment is different: it takes no comma before it and no capital.
Right: He said, “The bridge is closed.” / “The bridge is closed,” he said. / He said the bridge was “closed until spring.”
Wrong: He said, “the bridge is closed.” / “The bridge is closed,” He said. / He said the bridge was, “Closed until spring.”
Dialogue tags and action beats
A tag tells the reader who spoke, using a speech verb: said, asked, whispered, shouted, called, answered. An action beat does the same job with something the character does, and it is punctuated as a separate sentence. Which one you use decides the punctuation. For the question of which speech verbs to use, and when to use none, see the list of words to use instead of said.
Tag after the line
The line ends with a comma instead of a period, then comes the tag. The name or pronoun usually goes first (“Mina said”). “Said Mina” is also correct, and it reads better when the name carries a long description. “Said she” sounds archaic today unless the book is set in another century.
Right: “I'll drive,” Mina said. / “I'll drive,” said Mina's mother, who had not been asked.
Wrong: “I'll drive.” Mina said. / “I'll drive” Mina said.
Tag before the line
A tag before the speech ends with a comma, the speech starts with a capital, and the closing punctuation sits inside the marks. A colon can introduce a long or formal speech, such as a toast or a verdict, but the comma is the default in fiction.
Right: Mina said, “I'll drive.”
Wrong: Mina said “I'll drive.” / Mina said, “i'll drive.”
Tag in the middle of the line
When the tag interrupts the speech, check whether the words around it make one sentence or two. If one, the first part ends with a comma, the tag ends with a comma and the second part starts lowercase. If two, the tag ends with a period and the second sentence starts with a capital. Put the tag at a natural pause in the speech, where a speaker would breathe.
Right (one sentence): “If you're going to the market,” Mina said, “bring lemons.”
Right (two sentences): “I'm going to the market,” Mina said. “Do we need lemons?”
Wrong: “If you're going to the market,” Mina said. “Bring lemons.” / “I'm going to the market,” Mina said, “do we need lemons?”
Questions and exclamations
A question mark or an exclamation point does the comma's job, so it stays and nothing is added: no comma after it, and the tag that follows stays lowercase. When a tag splits a question, the first part ends with a comma and the question mark waits for the end of the question. A statement spoken as a question still takes a question mark.
Right: “Who's driving?” she asked. / “Get in!” he shouted. / “Are you,” she asked, “planning to drive the whole way?” / “You're driving?”
Wrong: “Who's driving?,” she asked. / “Who's driving?” She asked. / “Are you?” she asked, “planning to drive the whole way?”
Action beats
A beat is a full sentence about what the character does, set beside the line instead of a tag. It gets its own capital and its own period, and the speech next to it ends with a period, question mark or exclamation point, not a comma. Smiled, laughed, sighed, shrugged, nodded and grinned are actions rather than ways of producing words, so most editors punctuate them as beats. You can also join a tag and an action in one sentence.
Right: “Fine.” She shrugged. / She shrugged. “Fine.” / “Fine,” she said, and shrugged.
Wrong: “Fine,” she shrugged. / “Fine.” she shrugged. / She shrugged, “Fine.”
Interruptions, pauses and stammers
Cut off: an em dash inside the marks
When speech breaks off, because someone interrupts or because the speaker stops short, end it with an em dash (—) inside the closing mark, and add nothing after it: no period, no comma. The interrupting line starts a new paragraph as usual. A speaker who changes course halfway through a sentence gets a dash too.
Right: “I only meant—” / “I know what you meant.” / “We could take the—no, the bridge is closed.”
Wrong: “I only meant—.” / “I only meant-” (a hyphen) / “I only meant…” (an ellipsis means the line trailed away, not that someone stopped it)
Narration in the middle of a line
When the narrator breaks into a line with an action rather than a tag, the dashes go outside the quotation marks, because they belong to the narration, not to the speech. It is an effect for a pause the reader should feel, so save it for the moments that need one.
Right: “The money is”—she glanced at the door—“gone.”
Wrong: “The money is—” she glanced at the door “—gone.”
Trailing off: an ellipsis
An ellipsis marks speech that falters, hesitates or fades out. Chicago's traditional form is three spaced periods (. . .), while the single ellipsis character (…) is common in novels and e-books, and the 18th edition discusses the choice between them (12.68). This is house style: either is fine if the whole manuscript uses one. A question mark can follow an ellipsis when the trailing line is a question.
Right: “If you'd only called…” / “I… I don't know.” / “Did you ever think…?”
Wrong: “If you'd only called—” when nobody interrupted her / “If you'd only called..” (two periods)
Stammers and false starts
A repeated sound is usually joined with hyphens. A false start, where the speaker begins again, takes a dash. Use either lightly: a stammer on every line of a character's speech tires the reader quickly, and one tag or beat can carry it for a whole scene.
Right: “W-where did you put it?” / “I—I didn't put it anywhere.”
Wrong: “W…w…where did you put it?” / “I, I, I didn't put it anywhere.”
Long speeches, inner quotes and thoughts
One speaker across several paragraphs
When a character talks for more than one paragraph, put an opening quotation mark at the start of every paragraph, but a closing mark only at the end of the last one. The missing closing mark is the signal that the same person is still speaking. A closing mark at the end of each paragraph would tell the reader a new speaker had begun.
“The first time I saw the house, the roof was lying in the garden and a family of foxes lived in the kitchen.
“The second time, somebody had put the roof back on, more or less. The foxes had stayed.
“The third time, I bought it.”
A quotation inside dialogue
In American style, a quotation inside a line of dialogue takes single quotation marks, and a quotation inside that one goes back to double. When the inner and outer quotations end together, the period sits inside both, and the marks close single, then double.
Right: “She told me, ‘The keys are under the mat.’” / “Then he said, ‘Gran's rule is “never trust a cat,”’ and walked out.”
Wrong: “She told me, “The keys are under the mat.”” / “She told me, ‘The keys are under the mat’.”
Direct thoughts
A direct thought gives a character's words to themselves, in their own grammar. In contemporary fiction it is usually set in italics without quotation marks, with or without “she thought.” That is a convention rather than a fixed rule: Chicago treats thought in a section of its own (“Unspoken discourse,” 12.49 in the 18th edition), and publishers differ, so this is house style. Indirect thought, reported in the narrator's grammar, takes neither italics nor quotation marks. Whichever system you choose, use it for every thought in the book.
Right: Not again, Tess thought. / Not again. She put the phone face down. / Tess wondered whether he would call.
Wrong: Tess wondered whether he would call. / “Not again,” Tess thought, in a book where every other thought is in italics.
Close third-person narration often uses neither. The narrator's own sentences take on the character's thinking, as in “Tess put the phone face down. Not again, and not on a Sunday.” That technique, free indirect discourse, is explained in the guide to third person limited.
Emphasis, shouting and whispers
Italicize the word a speaker leans on. Carry volume with an exclamation point, a tag such as “he shouted,” or the way other people react. Capital letters read as typing rather than speech and look out of place in most books outside a text message or a sign.
Right: “I said Tuesday.” / “Get out!” he shouted.
Wrong: “I said TUESDAY.” / “Get out!” he shouted loudly.
Texts, letters and phone calls
Characters now talk in more ways than out loud. Chicago's 18th edition has a section on setting text messages as dialogue (12.50), but publishers still differ, so treat this as house style: choose a style for each kind in your first draft, note it on your style sheet, and keep it for the whole book.
- Text messages and chats. The usual choices are the message on its own line in italics, the message in quotation marks with a tag (“On my way,” he texted), or a short chat log with each sender's name. Keep each message in the character's texting voice, lowercase and all, if that is how they type.
- Letters, emails and notes. Set a whole letter off as an indented block, often in italics, without quotation marks. A single line quoted from it inside the narration takes ordinary quotation marks.
- Phone calls. Both sides follow the normal rules. If the viewpoint character can hear only one side, give only that side and let the pauses carry the rest.
- Words in another language. Many publishers italicize isolated words in another language that readers are unlikely to know. Some novelists leave every word in roman on purpose, so the language doesn't read as foreign to the characters who speak it. It's house style either way, so decide once.
Her phone lit up on the counter.
running late, save me a seat
Or: Her phone lit up. “Running late, save me a seat,” Priya had written.
To check a finished chapter against your choices, ask the Strokes Assistant to list the lines that don't follow your style sheet: a tag after a period, straight quotation marks among curly ones, a thought in quotation marks where the rest are in italics.
Names, numbers and small marks
- Direct address. Set off the name of the person spoken to with commas: “Thanks, Mom.” / “Mom, the bus is here.” Capitalize Mom, Dad and Grandma when they are used as names, and lowercase them after a possessive (“my mom”).
- Yes, no, well and oh. A comma follows them at the start of a line: “Well, that's that.” / “No, not yet.”
- Numbers. Spell out a number when you want readers to hear it a certain way (“twenty-two,” “half past four”). Beyond that, numerals in dialogue are house style, and Chicago sets out its own approach in 12.51, so check before you spell out every year and street number.
- Dropped letters. An apostrophe replaces the missing letters and faces the same way as in “don't”: ’cause, rock ’n’ roll, ’til. Word processors often turn it into an opening single quote (‘cause), which is wrong, so check every one.
American and British dialogue
British publishers have traditionally set dialogue in single quotation marks, with double marks for a quote inside a quote, the reverse of American practice. Some now use double marks too, so the house style decides. In dialogue itself, the comma before a tag sits inside the closing mark in both systems. The real difference shows up in quoted fragments: British style puts a period or comma outside the mark unless it belongs to the quotation.
| American | British | |
|---|---|---|
| Dialogue | American“Wait,” she said. | British‘Wait,’ she said. (some houses use double marks) |
| Quote within a quote | American“He said, ‘Wait.’” | British‘He said, “Wait.”’ |
| Quoted fragment | AmericanShe called it “a joke.” | BritishShe called it ‘a joke’. |
| Interrupted speech | AmericanClosed-up em dash: “I—” | BritishOften a spaced en dash: ‘I –’ |
| What the marks are called | AmericanQuotation marks | BritishQuotation marks or inverted commas |
Some novelists drop quotation marks altogether. James Joyce opened lines of speech with a dash in Ulysses (1922), and Cormac McCarthy and Sally Rooney write dialogue with no marks at all. Spanish, French and Russian books often introduce speech with a dash as standard practice. It is a deliberate style that works when the speakers are easy to tell apart. In a manuscript you are submitting, standard quotation marks are the safer choice.
How to quote dialogue in an essay
An essay about a novel or a play quotes dialogue inside your own sentences, so the quotation marks change. The rules below come from the MLA Handbook (9th edition, 2021) and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition). If your instructor or journal asks for a different style or edition, follow that.
MLA: dialogue inside a short quotation
A short quotation, four lines of prose or fewer in your paper, goes in double quotation marks, with the page number in parentheses and the period after the parentheses. When the passage mixes narration and dialogue, the dialogue inside it switches to single quotation marks. When you quote only the spoken words, double marks are enough. A question mark that belongs to the quotation stays inside the marks.
Austen opens with a question: “‘My dear Mr. Bennet,’ said his lady to him one day, ‘have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?’” (1).
Mrs. Bennet insists that it is, “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it” (1).
MLA: a conversation as a block quotation
A quotation longer than four lines of prose becomes a block: it starts on a new line, is indented half an inch from the left margin, stays double-spaced and has no quotation marks around it. Inside the block, the dialogue keeps its original double quotation marks. The citation goes after the final punctuation. When the passage runs to two or more paragraphs, as a conversation always does, indent the first line of each paragraph an extra quarter inch.
MLA block quotation, layout (indents shown with spaces)
Austen lets Mr. Bennet's silence do the talking:
Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.
“But it is,” returned she; “for Mrs. Long has just
been here, and she told me all about it.”
Mr. Bennet made no answer.
“Do not you want to know who has taken it?” cried his
wife, impatiently. (Austen 1)MLA: dialogue from a play
Quote a conversation between characters in a play as a block. Each character's name starts a line, indented half an inch, in capital letters and followed by a period, then the speech begins. Indent any further lines of the same speech a little more, and start a new line when the speaker changes. Cite act, scene and line numbers for a play in verse, and page numbers (with the act, if you like) for a play in prose.
MLA play quotation, layout
Wilde opens the play on a servant's polite evasion:
ALGERNON. Did you hear what I was playing, Lane?
LANE. I didn't think it polite to listen, sir.
ALGERNON. I'm sorry for that, for your sake. I don't
play accurately—any one can play accurately—but I
play with wonderful expression. (Wilde 3; act 1)The passage is from Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). As above, the page number stands in for the page of the edition you are citing.
APA: short and block quotations
In APA style, a quotation of fewer than 40 words goes in double quotation marks, and any quoted material inside it takes single marks. A quotation of 40 words or more becomes a block: indented half an inch, double-spaced, with no quotation marks around it, and quoted material inside the block in double marks. The citation follows the block's final punctuation, with no period after the closing parenthesis.
Social science papers quote dialogue most often from interviews. APA treats quotations from your own research participants as part of your data, so they are not cited and don't go in the reference list. Say in the text that the words come from participants, and identify people only as far as their consent allows, for instance with a pseudonym.
APA block quotation from a participant, layout (original example)
Maya, a shift lead at one of the bakeries in the study,
described the morning handover:
When the morning crew walks in, everybody talks at
once. Someone says, “The second oven ran hot again,”
and someone else is already asking about the flour
order. You say the important part twice, slowly, and
hope it lands before the first delivery.Frequently asked questions
Does the comma go inside or outside the quotation marks in dialogue?
Inside, in American English: commas and periods go inside the closing quotation mark. A common misunderstanding is that British style moves them outside in dialogue. It usually doesn't: ‘Wait,’ she said. British style moves a period or comma outside only for quoted fragments that aren't full sentences of speech.
Do you indent every line of dialogue?
Each paragraph of dialogue is indented like any other paragraph: in a novel manuscript, a first-line indent, commonly half an inch, with no extra space between paragraphs. A new speaker means a new paragraph, so in a fast exchange nearly every line starts with an indent. Indenting a whole block is for quotations in essays, not for dialogue in fiction.
Do you need a dialogue tag on every line?
No. In a two-person exchange, new paragraphs already show who is speaking, so a tag every few lines is usually enough. Add one when a third person joins, after a long action beat, or wherever a reader might lose count. A beat can do the same job. If you cover the tags on a page and can still tell the speakers apart, you can cut more of them.
