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Post by amanda on Oct 27, 2012 9:49:56 GMT
I think I know the answer but just checking. Is the comma correct in the dialogue below, or should it be a full stop? Very grateful for any help. Yawning widely she strolled over, "Can I help?" she asked.
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Post by Dave Miller on Oct 27, 2012 13:53:51 GMT
That's one cruddy sentence! First off, I'd pop a comma after the adverbial phrase "Yawning widely". Then, I'd note that there are two full-blown sentences, which need more than a comma to separate them: she strolled over and "Can I help?" she asked. My own preference would be also to pop a comma between the quotation and the she asked, but if the rest of the text is not in that style, the lack doesn't matter. I come up with: Yawning widely, she strolled over; "Can I help?", she asked. or Yawning widely, she strolled over. "Can I help?", she asked.
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Post by Dave on Oct 27, 2012 17:37:58 GMT
I agree with you, Dave, except for the comma following the closing quotation mark. I wouldn't put it in because of the question mark within the quotation, but that may be a US vs. UK style: Yawning widely, she strolled over. "Can I help?" she asked. This can be confounded by replacing the pronoun with the character's name: Yawning widely, she strolled over. "Can I help?" Amanda asked. because the proper name is capitalized just like the first word in a sentence.
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