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Punctuating Dialogue with Action Beats & Dialogue Tags

Rule

Use a comma with dialogue tags and a period or pair of em dashes with action beats

Terms to Know

Dialogue tag – a verb of utterance (said, asked, yelled, whispered)

Action beat – a sentence that identifies who is speaking with some type of verb other than a verb of utterance

Examples

“Seriously, this restaurant has the best free chips and salsa,” he said.  (comma inside closing quotation mark before tag)

He said, “Seriously, this restaurant has the best free chips and salsa.” (comma after tag and before quotation mark)

“Seriously,” he said, “this restaurant has the best free chips and salsa.” (comma on both sides of tagm with first one inside closing quotation mark)

“Seriously, this restaurant has the best free chips and salsa.” He rubbed his belly. (period inside closing quotation mark before action beat)

He rubbed his belly. “Seriously, this restaurant has the best free chips and salsa.” (period after action beat and before quotation mark)

“Seriously”—he rubbed his belly—“this restaurant has the best free chips and salsa.” (em dashes outside of quotation marks before and after the beat)

These words aren’t dialogue tags

  • Smiled
  • Laughed
  • Grinned
  • Frowned
  • Sighed
  • Nodded
  • Cried
  • Snickered
  • Chuckled

·  Groaned

So this is incorrect: “I will get you, my pretty, and your little dog too,” she chuckled.

Correct: “I will get you, my pretty, and your little dog too.” She chuckled.

Rule

No comma needed if the dialogue has an ending question mark or exclamation point

Examples:

“Would you like them here or there?” Sam-I-Am said.

“I do not like Green Eggs and Ham!” the unnamed character said.

Practice

  1. She clenched her fists “I won’t let you get away with this”
  2. “I don’t think so” he yelled.
  3. John frowned “Where’s everyone?”
  4. “I can’t believe you did that” she said, shaking her head.
  5. “When is he going to be done?” she asked.
  6. “You don’t understand” he sighed.
  7. She said “You better explain yourself.”
  8. “You think I should forgive you” Sarah crossed her arms.
  9. “I know” she said “but it’s just hard.”
  10. “I don’t know what to do” Mark ran his fingers through his hair “I tried.”
  11. “You” she pounded his chest “took everything from me.”

Answers

  1. She clenched her fists. “I won’t let you get away with this”
  2. “I don’t think so,” he yelled.
  3. John frowned. “Where’s everyone?”
  4. “I can’t believe you did that,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief
  5. “When is he going to be done?” she asked. (no comma with ?)
  6. “You don’t understand.” He sighed.
  7. She said, “You better explain yourself.”
  8. “You think I should forgive you.” Sarah crossed her arms
  9. “I know,” she said, “but it’s just hard.”
  10. “I don’t know what to do.” Mark ran his fingers through his hair. “I tried.”
  11. “You”—she pounded his chest—“took everything from me.”

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With a passion for words, collecting quotes, and reading books, I love all things writing related. I will admit to having a love-hate relationship with writing as I am constantly critical, but I feel a grand sense of accomplishment spending hours editing my own writing.

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About the Author: Katie Chambers

Katie Chambers, owner and head editor of Beacon Point, loves helping authors learn to write better and editors learn to better manage their business. As a former English teacher, teaching is a big passion of hers. Follow her on LinkedIn or Instagram.

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