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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Can someone please clarify whether we can legitimately have some freedom over the use of commas and direct speech in a book? I'm proofing a first book for a friend, we have a query over the use of a comma when introducing direct speech. Technically we should use a comma in the following example, but we prefer the full stop as shown. Can we get away with this (we see this in many books). Here's the sample: Steve walked to the side of the pool. "Get out of the water, Jason!" There was no way he was going to let Jason drown on his watch. [sample ends] Hope someone can help!
Top answer
Steve walked to the side of the pool. " There was no way he was going to let Jason drown on his watch. A period is fine here.
- Steve walked to the side of the pool.
- " There was no way he was going to let Jason drown on his watch.
- A period is fine here.
- I would only consider a comma if there were someone else present, in addition to Steve and Jason.
- Even then, there are other considerations.
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6 Answers
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Steve walked to the side of the pool. "Get out of the water, Jason!" There was no way he was going to let Jason drown on his watch.
A period is fine here. I would only consider a comma if there were someone else present, in addition to Steve and Jason.
Even then, there are other considerations. eg Does the other person k
A period is fine here. I would only consider a comma if there were someone else present, in addition to Steve and Jason.
Even then, there are other considerations. eg Does the other person k
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AnonymousTechnically we should use a comma in the following example ...I see no place whatsoever to put a comma in this excerpt. I would say that, technically, you should not use a comma.
Steve walked to the side of the pool. "Get out of the water, Jason!" There was no way he was going to let Jason drown on his watch.
There is no reporti
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Thanks, would you tell me, is the question correct, I wasn't sure it makes total sense and is grammatical?
->Can someone please clarify whether we can legitimately have some freedom over the use of commas and direct speech in a book?
->Can someone please clarify whether we can legitimately have some freedom over the use of commas and direct speech in a book?
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AnonymousCan someone please clarify whether we can legitimately have some freedom over the use of commas and direct speech in a book?That depends on your publisher.
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