The use of a comma: "Tell you what," Russell said, closing his notebook.

Question

HiPlease see the following sentence.Novel: Even StevenWriter: John Gilstrap.Page: 106I think the red comma is incorrect. Shouldn't it be a period?"Tell you what," Russell said, closing his notebook."It's kind of cold out here."(MM?)Thanks

Feebs11 · Accepted Answer

This is correct punctuation. The full sentence runs from the start of the speech to "notebook."

Mr. Tom · Answer

Feebs11This is correct punctuation. The full sentence runs from the start of the speech to "notebook."

I am grateful, Feebs.

...but I need more light on it. Why is the "i" of it capital if there is a comma after "what"?

Shouldn't it be:

"Tell you what," Russell said, closing his notebook."it's kind of cold out here."

Let's try this one:

Russell said, "Tell you what, it's kind of cold out here."

I hope you understand what I am trying to say.

Yankee · Answer

Hi Tom

This is standard punctuation in quoted speech:

"This is a complete sentence," Tom said.

Two back-to-back sentences might look like this:

"That is a complete sentence," Tom said with a puzzled look. "Why do you think it is not complete?"

The use of a comma: "Tell you what," Russell said, closing his notebook.

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