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Phi Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Multiple quotes of dialogue

Hi all,

I would appreciate any help. I have trouble with the following sentence,

Everyone was so busy, there was just time for "Hi", "Bye" and no "What's up dude?"
  • Do we treat the following, "Hi" "Bye" "What's up dude" as phrases or pieces of dialogue?
  • Should a full stop follow "What's up dude?" i.e., Everyone was so busy, there was just time for "Hi", "Bye" and no "What's up dude?".
  • Do I need to include punctuation for "Hi" and "Bye" and "What's up dude?" i.e., Everyone was so busy, there was just time for "Hi.", "Bye." and no "What's up dude?".
I hope I was clear in explaining my question. Please do not hesitate to ask me to rephrase my question if I am unclear.

Thank you!
  

Top answer

" You're nor reporting the dialogue, you're using them as phrases. The American style of punctuation would have the comma inside the " mark. ".

— BarbaraPA

  • " You're nor reporting the dialogue, you're using them as phrases.
  • The American style of punctuation would have the comma inside the " mark.
  • ".
  • question.
  • I would omit the period.
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3 Answers
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I'd rewrite just a bit: Everyone was so busy that there was just time for "Hi" and "Bye," and not even a "What's up dude?"

You're nor reporting the dialogue, you're using them as phrases.

The American style of punctuation would have the comma inside the " mark. I've seen arguments on either side of the "What's up, dude?". question. I would om
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Dear Grammar Geek,

Thank you for the reply.

This is what I have learned from your post.
  • Include only punctuation marks in "What's up dude?"
  • No need for punctuation in "Hi" and "Bye". I am slightly confused. You included a comma with "Bye" in the first example and then changed the comma to a full stop in the second example.
  • No need for the full stop
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I was punctuating the entire sentence, not the quotes themselves.

Note in the US, the comma could go inside the quote. I wrote "Hi" and "Bye," and ...
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