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Victo Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Comma to Introduce a Quote
The Sussex Guide to Punctuation says that the comma to introduce the quote (after the word 'declared') is completely pointless in the following sentence:
President Nixon declared "I am not a crook."
That being said, is it okay to omit the comma after dialogue tags such as 'said', 'replied', 'stated' etc? See below.
Josephine said "I will meet you at the office at 5 pm."
Connie replied "There's no such thing as a true friend."
Louis stated "The meeting on 5 June has been postponed."
The omission of the comma certainly doesn't hurt these sentences, agreed?
Is the omission of the comma in these examples completely wrong?
Thank you.
President Nixon declared "I am not a crook."
That being said, is it okay to omit the comma after dialogue tags such as 'said', 'replied', 'stated' etc? See below.
Josephine said "I will meet you at the office at 5 pm."
Connie replied "There's no such thing as a true friend."
Louis stated "The meeting on 5 June has been postponed."
The omission of the comma certainly doesn't hurt these sentences, agreed?
Is the omission of the comma in these examples completely wrong?
Thank you.
Top answer
Is it okay to omit the comma after dialogue tags such as 'said', 'replied', 'stated' etc? See below. Yes .
- Is it okay to omit the comma after dialogue tags such as 'said', 'replied', 'stated' etc?
- See below.
- Yes .
- " The omission of the comma certainly doesn't hurt these sentences, agreed?
- Agreed.
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7 Answers
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Is it okay to omit the comma after dialogue tags such as 'said', 'replied', 'stated' etc? See below. Yes.
Josephine said "I will meet you at the office at 5 pm."
Connie replied "There's no such thing as a true friend."
Josephine said "I will meet you at the office at 5 pm."
Connie replied "There's no such thing as a true friend."
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victoIs the omission of the comma in these examples completely wrong?Yes. The reader wonders where they went. The reader should never notice the punctuation.
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I'd say the use of a comma there reflects the fact that we usually pause briefly in speech to indicate to the listener that what follows is a quotation.
Clive
Clive
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Rover, now I am curious.
Could we omit the commas in these interrupted quotes? I say yes, and I think Fowler, if alive, would concur. Do you?
Tomorrow’ he said ‘is a new day.’
‘I cannot guess’ he retorted ‘what you mean.’
Could we omit the commas in these interrupted quotes? I say yes, and I think Fowler, if alive, would concur. Do you?
Tomorrow’ he said ‘is a new day.’
‘I cannot guess’ he retorted ‘what you mean.’
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The first sentence above was supposed to be:
‘Tomorrow’ he said ‘is a new day.’
‘Tomorrow’ he said ‘is a new day.’
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‘You need to study harder’ Megan said.
I believe no comma in this one too, Rover. Agreed?
I believe no comma in this one too, Rover. Agreed?
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