Learn the punctuation rules for dialogue, action beats, and dialogue tags.
Punctuating sentences in general can be tricky. And when you throw in a twist like dialogue (which comes with its own set of rules), punctuating can get even more convoluted. But this tip will spell it out for you.
You’ll learn the basics so that when you’re writing your own dialogue, you’ll be confident that your commas and periods and quotation marks are exactly where they need to be. Not only will your work look more professional, but you’ll save money when you send your manuscript to a copyeditor because she’ll have less to correct. It’s a win-win for everyone!
Some Basics
Okay, let’s go over two basic rules before we dive into the punctuation:
1. Dialogue should be inside quotation marks. The rest of the sentence (dialogue tags and action beats) should be outside the quotation marks.
Dialogue tags define who is speaking and how they speak it. Here are some examples:
he said
she answers
Lyla whispers
Action beats are any kind of action. Here are some examples:
clearing her throat
He looked out the window.
Lyla turned, then stopped.
This convention is to help the reader know when a character is speaking and when the narrator or viewpoint character is speaking.
Here’s an example that shows all three parts in a sentence:
2. When you have multiple people talking to each other, make sure to start a new paragraph each time the speaker switches. Each paragraph should only have dialogue from one speaker.
“Do you want to buy red roses?” Lyla asked.
“I was actually looking at these lilies,” Karen said.
Now that you’ve got those rules down, let’s dive into the punctuation.
Action Tags
Let’s start with a basic sentence and dialogue tag.
“I want to buy red roses,” Lyla said.
The dialogue and dialogue tag are separated not only by quotation marks but also by a comma. (Note the comma after roses.) Even though “I want to buy red roses” is a complete sentence, we actually treat the dialogue and dialogue tag as one sentence, not two. So, we’ll use only one period at the end of the dialogue tag.
Incorrect: “I want to buy red roses.” Lyla said.
Correct: “I want to buy red roses,” Lyla said.
Also note that the comma is inside the quotation marks, not outside the quotation marks. Placing the comma outside the quotation marks is one of the most common mistakes editors find when copyediting dialogue. So if you remember only one rule, remember this one.
Incorrect: “I want to buy red roses”, Lyla said.
Correct: “I want to buy red roses,” Lyla said.
The dialogue tag can also be inverted, so instead of “Lyla said,” we could use “said Lyla.”
“I want to buy red roses,” said Lyla.
Although this style is less common in today’s writing, it is still acceptable to use.
The dialogue tag can appear before, after, or in the middle of the sentence.
Before: Lyla said, “I want to buy roses.”
After: “I want to buy red roses,” Lyla said.
Middle: “I want,” Lyla said, “to buy red roses.”
Notice that no matter where the dialogue tag is, it is always set off with a comma, and the entire line (treated as one sentence) always ends in a period. Make sure to note in the third example the comma after I want and the comma after said. Because the dialogue tag is in the middle of the dialogue, we need those commas to mark that the dialogue is ending with I want and picking back up again with to buy.
So what happens when you have more than one sentence in your dialogue? No problem. Write the sentences as you normally would within quotation marks, starting with a capital letter and ending with a closing punctuation mark. Just remember that wherever you decide to add a dialogue tag in the middle of a sentence, it needs to be set off by commas. Here is an example:
“Yesterday,” Lyla said, “I went to the florist. I wanted to buy red roses.”
Here we have a comma after yesterday to indicate the dialogue is pausing, and a comma after said to show that the dialogue tag is ending.
If you are adding a tag between two complete sentences of dialogue, use a period, not a comma, after said.
Incorrect: “Yesterday, I went to the florist,” Lyla said, “I wanted to buy red roses.”
Correct: “Yesterday, I went to the florist,” Lyla said. “I wanted to buy red roses.”
Here’s another example:
“Yesterday, I went to the florist. I wanted to buy red roses,” Lyla said. “They were on sale, so I couldn’t resist. It was $6 for a dozen.”
Again, notice that we only use a comma when marking the end of the dialogue and the beginning of the dialogue tag. If there isn’t a dialogue tag, (like in the second half of the example) go ahead and punctuate your sentence as you normally would.
Action Beats
Now that we’ve got the dialogue tag down, let’s move on to action beats. We need to make sure we know the difference between dialogue tags and action beats because, depending on which one you use, it will affect the correct way to punctuate your sentence.
Dialogue tags are generally written with what are called “verbs of utterance” such as said, says, replied, answers, and other verbs that describe speech. Verbs that do not describe speech, such as frowned, winks, or the like should not be used as dialogue tags because they are not an act of speaking.
Correct: “I will buy the red roses,” Lyla said.
Incorrect: “I will buy the red roses,” Lyla smiled.
Sometimes writers use actions like laughs or sighs as dialogue tags. These verbs are in the gray area because they can’t always happen at the same time as speech. (Try sighing while talking, and you’ll find your sigh can only last for a couple words.) These verbs are commonly used in conjunction with what the speaker is saying in order to add a different tone or feel to the spoken words, but they are not verbs of utterance. It is common for editors to replace or revise these kinds of dialogue tags.
Incorrect: “I will buy the red roses,” Lyla laughed.
There are three ways we can fix this sentence:
Replace laughed with a dialogue tag.
“I will buy the red roses,” Lyla said.
Change the dialogue tag to be punctuated as an action beat.
“I will buy the red roses.” Lyla laughed.
Notice how when we have an action beat, it is not set off by a comma. An action beat is treated as its own sentence separate from the dialogue.
Use both a dialogue tag and an action beat.
“I will buy the red roses,” Lyla said, then laughed.
In this option, we have a correct dialogue tag but also add an action beat. Notice how the dialogue is separated from the dialogue tag with a comma after roses, and how the dialogue tag is separated from the action beat then laughed with a comma also.
Similar to dialogue tags, action beats can come before, after, or in the middle of a sentence of dialogue.
Before: Lyla smiled. “I will buy the red roses.”
After: “I will buy the red roses.” Lyla smiled.
Middle: “I”—Lyla smiled—“will buy the red roses.”
When an action beat is in the middle of a sentence, the punctuation looks different than how it would with a dialogue tag. Because action beats are not set off by commas, we won’t use them—even when the action beat is in the middle of a sentence. Instead we use em dashes. Note that these em dashes are outside the quotation marks, not inside. The em dashes are setting off the action beat, not the dialogue.
Action beats in the middle of a sentence should be used sparingly and are normally used for more important actions than simply smiling. Here is a better example:
“I would like to buy”—she snatched up the last bouquet—“these red roses.”
Action beats are more commonly used in between sentences of dialogue than in the middle of a sentence.
“These are beautiful.” Lyla picked up the flowers. “I want to buy the red roses.”
Notice that because there are no speaker tags, we do not use commas after beautiful or flowers. Instead, we use periods because we are using an action beat in between the full sentences.
Here’s another example of an action beat used with multiple sentences of dialogue:
“Look at these red roses! They are beautiful.” Lyla turned to the florist. “Would you tell me how much they cost?”
Again, notice there are no commas after beautiful or florist because we are using an action beat.
Now let’s see how we can use a dialogue tag and an action beat in the middle of the sentence. Here’s what it looks like:
“These,” Lyla said, picking up the flowers, “are beautiful. I want to buy the red roses.”
Notice that we have commas! That’s because dialogue tags trump action beats. Meaning, when we use both dialogue tags and action beats, we follow the punctuation rules for dialogue tags. So we have a comma after these and flowers to set off the dialogue tag. We also have a comma after said to set off the dialogue tag from the action beat.
Question Marks and Exclamation Points
Let’s look at some other punctuation: question marks and exclamation points. These punctuation marks trump commas. So when we use them in dialogue, they take the place of the comma that would set off the dialogue tag.
Correct: “Do you want to buy the red roses?” Lyla asked.
Correct: “Look at these red roses!” Lyla said, picking up the flowers.
Notice how we don’t use a comma after roses in either example. That’s because one punctuation mark is enough. Just look how odd it would be to have both.
Incorrect: “Do you want to buy the red roses?,” Lyla asked.
Incorrect: “Look at these red roses!,” Lyla said, picking up the flowers.
We use question marks and exclamation points instead of the usual comma because they add a tone to the dialogue that the comma can’t.
You can also use exclamation points with action beats. This is mainly used with onomatopoeia, or words that convey a sound.
The rain and thunder continued as Lyla entered the flower shop. “I’ll buy”—crash!—”these red roses.” Lyla and the florist looked at the broken vase that had fallen from the shelf.
Other Forms of Speech
Let’s look at some other forms of speech that are commonly found in dialogue. These examples will also add a tone or feel to the sentence that couldn’t be communicated with a comma, so you’ll notice how we don’t use commas to set off dialogue tags in these instances.
Interruptions:
When we want to show dialogue being interrupted or a speaker abruptly stopped, we use em dashes.
“I wanted to buy—” Lyla said.
“Do you have any red—”
Note that the em dash goes inside The quotation marks because it’s the dialogue that is being interrupted. If the narrator were interrupting with an action beat (we saw this above), then the em dashes would go outside the quotation marks.
Trailing Off/Faltering Speech:
When we want to show that the dialogue is trailing off or faltering, we use ellipses. Ellipses are generally typed as three periods with a space in between each period.
“I wanted to buy . . .” Lyla said.
“I . . . well, I was thinking . . . I could buy . . . the red roses,” Lyla said.
Lyla asked, “I love the red roses . . .”
In the first example, the dialogue is an incomplete sentence. There is a space between buy and the beginning of the ellipsis. There is not a space between the last period in the ellipsis and the closing quotation mark.
In the second example, there is a space before and after each ellipsis because the trailing off is in the middle of the sentence.
In the third example, even though it is a full sentence, we only need the ellipses, we do not also need a period.
The ellipses can also be used with a question mark or an exclamation point.
“I’m looking for red roses. But what do you have for sale . . . ?”
“But you can’t be out of red roses . . . !”
Note how the question mark and exclamation point are added after the ellipses. Also notice that there is a space between them and the ellipses but not between them and the closing quotation mark.
Stuttering
There are a few punctuation and capitalization variations to show stuttering in dialogue:
Use a dash in between repeated letters.
“I-I want to b-buy the red roses,” Lyla said.
When more than one letter makes up the sound that is being repeated, like th-, sh-, or ph- use a dash in between those letters.
“Sh-should you buy red roses?”
Use an em dash in between repeated words. Note that the capital letter is only used in the first instance of the word, not the following repeated words, unless it is a proper noun, like a name.
“You—you—you have red roses, don’t you, Ly-Ly-Lyla?”
Internal Dialogue
Internal dialogue is not spoken out loud. This is mainly thoughts or imagined dialogue. It can be punctuated in three ways: italicized, with quotation marks, or without quotation marks.
For internal dialogue that lasts only a sentence or two, it is most common in modern fiction to use italics.
I wanted to buy the red roses, Lyla thought.
These, Lyla thought, are the most beautiful red roses.
For internal dialogue that is several paragraphs long, it is common to use quotation marks.
“I wanted to buy the red roses,” Lyla thought. “If only there were more bouquets for sale. With the six bouquets available, I won’t be able to give a dozen roses to everyone I had planned. Would it be odd to give some red roses and others pink? And what do yellow roses symbolize? I certainly don’t want to offend anyone.”
It is also appropriate to use no quotation marks. This is less common in modern fiction, since it’s harder to tell what is thought and what is not when using this method.
I wanted to buy the red roses, Lyla thought.
These, Lyla thought, are the most beautiful red roses.
She thought, If they have any red roses, I will buy them.
Notice that whatever method is used, there are commas separating the dialogue from the internal dialogue.
There you have it. There are many, many rules on how to punctuate dialogue. The more you practice punctuating dialogue, the better you’ll get at it. And the best part is that you’ll always have this guide to look back to.
At Ever Editing, we love puzzling over tricky dialogue interspersed with action beats and dialogue tags. So if you have an especially tricky sentence you’re not sure how to punctuate, contact us. We’d love to brainstorm with you and figure out how to accurately punctuate your specific dialogue.
The Published Examples
“Riot?” Coyote said. “I’d like you to meet my girl.” “Your girl? I’m hardly . . .” Frankie laughed and looked up at Coyote’s commanding officer, who was dressed in fatigues and wearing aviator sunglasses.
(Hannah, Kristin. The Women. St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2024.)
Notice there are no commas after the question mark and the ellipsis. Also note that there is one dialogue tag and one action beat.
“I’m sorry, Delphine,” said Alice, and then—shamefully—she hiccupped. “For what, dear?” said Delphine. “They weren’t being very nice,” said Alice. “Oh, that,” said Delphine. “I don’t care a groat about that.” She waved her hand as if shooing a fly. “People like them will seek a collective target almost automatically. People of our class, I mean. We were bred to do it. We’ve been doing it since birth.”
(Moore, Liz. The God of the Woods. Penguin Publishing Group, 2024.)
Here we have multiple dialogue tags. Notice how the punctuation to set off the dialogue tags is either a comma or a question mark. And in the fourth paragraph you can see how both a dialogue tag and an action beat can be used interspersed throughout dialogue.
“Nice.” I nodded at Emma. “Alex, this is my girlfriend, Emma.” She smiled. “Hi.” “Hey.” My brother froze and beamed like he’d never seen a woman before. “So what’re you guys doing?” he asked, looking back and forth between us.
(Jimenez, Abby. Just for the Summer. Grand Central Publishing, 2024.)
This example is full of action beats. There is also one dialogue tag that is combined with an action beat.
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