Dialogue and Quotation Marks

Quotations Marks
A speaker’s exact words are called a quotation. When you write a quotation, use quotation marks (“ ”) at the beginning and end of the speaker’s words. Begin the quotation with a capital letter.

Use a comma in a direct quotation as follows:

• If the quotation comes last in a sentence, use a comma to separate it from the rest of the sentence:
          Wise Eagle said, “Mother Earth continued to sacrifice for us.”

• If the quotation comes first, use a comma, question mark, or exclamation mark to separate the quotation from the rest of the sentence:
          “Who will make a sacrifice?” asked the Chanters.

• Place the end punctuation mark of a quotation before closing the quotation mark:
           Wise Eagle asked, “Who will help the Little One?”