‘I know where the treasure is hidden,’ remarked Esther.
‘It’s beneath the apple tree in Bingham’s Wood.’
Here, two separate sentences have been interrupted by
‘remarked Esther’. The full stop could not have been placed
after ‘hidden’ so it comes after ‘Esther’. If a speaker speaks
for several sentences, close the inverted commas at the end
of the speech. Do not close them at the end of each sentence.
Addressing a character
Commas are also used when someone is addressed by name.
Depending on the position of it, the comma goes before or
after the name.
‘John, come here,’ said the teacher.
‘Come here, John,’ said the teacher.Asking a question
A comma is also used before the following phrases at the
end of a sentence:
didn’t you? won’t it? hasn’t he? don’t you? didn’t she? etc.
It won’t rain, will it?
She hasn’t got a coat, has she?Sometimes this type of question isrhetorical. That means it
does not require an answer.
Having a duologue
If there are only two speakers, it is not always necessary to
identify them after each speech. Each person’s speech is one
WRITING DIALOGUE / 105