Do speech marks need a capital letter?

5. When using quotation marks, certain rules apply regarding capitalization and punctuation. Use a capital letter with the first word of a complete sentence of a direct quotation.

What are the rules for using speech marks?

The general rules of direct speech are:

Each new character’s speech starts on a new line.
Speech is opened with speech marks.
Each line of speech starts with a capital.
The line of speech ends with a comma, exclamation mark or question mark.
A reporting clause is used at the end (said Jane, shouted Paul, replied Mum).

Do full stops go inside speech marks?

The full stop should be placed before the closing quotation mark when the sentence quoted is a full grammatical sentence, i.e a sentence that can stand on its own and is complete. In this case, the full stop must come before the closing quotation mark.

Do you capitalize the word after dialogue?

Unless the dialogue tag begins with a proper noun, it is not capitalized. A comma is used after the dialogue tag, OUTSIDE of quotation marks, to reintroduce the dialogue. End the dialogue with the appropriate punctuation (period, exclamation point, or question mark), but keep it INSIDE the quotation marks.

Do you start a new line for speech?

When there’s a new speaker, the speech starts on a new line. Speech is always started with a capital letter, even when it comes after the reporting clause (see example 4). Indirect speech is used when we tell someone the gist of what was said, without writing out the comment in full.

Do you start a new paragraph after dialogue?

Even with dialogue that is clearly attributed, start a new paragraph with each new speaker. The reader shouldn’t have to wait until after the dialogue is spoken to understand who is saying it. Readers form ideas and draw conclusions as they read.

When to use a capital letter in direct speech?

The second part of the direct speech starts with a capital letter if it is a new sentence. They are often used for writing direct speech in books, newspapers and reports.

What kind of punctuation do you use in direct speech?

Punctuation in direct speech. We use inverted commas (also called quotation marks, quotes or speech marks) to indicate direct speech. Double quotes (“) are preferred in American English, while single quotes (‘) are more common in British English: “I’m coming home late tonight,” she said. ‘I’m coming home late tonight,’ she said.

Do you write a question mark before a capital letter?

The first letter is a capital letter. We write a question mark (?) before the closing inverted commas. We write an exclamation mark (!) before the closing inverted commas. We write the exact words inside the inverted commas. The first letter is a capital letter.

Is there a comma before the closing speech Mark?

2. there should be a comma not a full stop before the closing speech mark, no capital letter needed for said, both double and single speech marks used in the same sentence, only the question mark is necessary before the closing speech mark,full stop should be in the speech marks

Do speech marks need a capital letter? 5. When using quotation marks, certain rules apply regarding capitalization and punctuation. Use a capital letter with the first word of a complete sentence of a direct quotation. What are the rules for using speech marks? The general rules of direct speech are: Each new character’s speech starts…