英语对话标点符号及格式

Dialogue

What happens if you write bad dialogue? People will really hate reading it. Let’s take a

look at good dialogue, bad dialogue, and some rules to help us write dialogue properly.

The basic rules

Dialogue should:

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Begin on a new line for each new speaker

Have double or single quotation marks around the words people say. “I hate tomatoes,”

Joel said.

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Have punctuation inside the quotation marks

End the dialogue line with a comma if you’re adding a dialogue tag, but with a full stop

(period) if you’re adding an action. A dialogue tag is something like he an

action, like “She folded her arms,” is not a dialogue tag.

Here’s an example:

“Joe, please come here,” Sarah said. “We need to talk.”

“What about?”

“You know what.” She folded her arms.

Notice that we don’t always need to add a dialogue tag. To make a good dialogue, don’t make

everything into a pattern. You need variety and balance.

More details about the basic rules

1 - Regular Quote

In a regular quote, with no continuing or following sentence, use standard punctuation.

"You didn't see her?"

"I didn't see her."

2 - Quote as End of a Sentence

If the quote, whether there are other parts to the paragraph or not, is a sentence all its own,

the same rule applies as in the first example I wrote.

"You didn't see her?" Detective Martin paced back and forth in front of the two way mirror,

the click click of his shoes making me nervous.

"I didn't see her." He was trying to wear me down. I knew for a fact I didn't see her that

night.

3 - Do Not Capitalize a Sentence Extension

Sometimes the quote is just part of a bigger sentence. When the quote is part of a bigger

sentence, the rest of the sentence is called the “extension.” The extension should not begin

with a capital letter.

The wrong way:

"You didn't see her?" The detective asked.

The right way:

"You didn't see her?" the detective asked.

Also do it this way if the extension is in the middle of the quote.

Mr. Zhang re-opened his Powerpoint presentation. “We’re so lucky,” he declared, with the

seriousness of a firefighter who has just put out a fire, “that I brought two flash drives with

my lecture on them today.”

4 - Knowing When to Use a Comma

When you have a quote that ends with a period and it has a sentence extension on it, you

need to replace the period with a comma.

The wrong way:

"I didn't see her." I told him.

The right way:

"I didn't see her," I told him.

The wrong way:

"I didn't see her." She whispered, holding back her anger.

The right way:

"I didn't see her," she whispered, holding back her anger.

Now some tips about style.

1. Base your dialogue in a scene. The dialogue should not just be two people talking.

It’s too plain and boring and it won’t interest your reader.

This means the dialogue needs to take place somewhere, with some kind of action.

Where are your characters? A coffee shop? Driving in a car? At home?

Who is nearby? Young children?The boss? Enemy spies?

You don’t have to mention action or setting very often, but you should do it a

little bit.

2. Your dialogue might need some back story. According to Stephen King, Back

story is all the stuff that happened before your tale began but which has an

impact on the front story. Back story helps define character and establish

motivation. I think it’s important to get the back story in as quickly as

possible, but it’s also important to do it with some grace. As an example of

what’s not graceful, consider this line of dialogue:

“Hello, ex-wife,” Tom said to Doris as she entered the room.

This one is better:

“Hi Doris,” Tom said. His voice sounded natural enough- to his own ears at least- but the

fingers of his right hand crept to the place where his wedding ring had been until six

months ago.

3. Don’t let one person speak for too long. When people talk together, it shouldn’t

be like giving speeches. If one character has a lot of things to say, the other

character should occasionally interrupt to say something, or to ask a question

Now let’s look at some bad and good dialogues.

Version 1

“Where are you going?” David asked.

“I’m going home!” Julie said.

“I don’t think you should,” he said.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Tony will be here soon. He wants to talk to you,” he said.

“Well, I don’t want to talk to him,” she said.

“It’s important that we solve the problem as soon as possible,” John

said.

“It’s your problem, not mine!” Julie said.

“It’s everyone’s problem and you know it,” John said.

“I’m going!” Julie said. Immediately, she went to the door, opened it

and walked out.

What do you think of it?

Version 2

“Where are you going?” David asked.

“I’m going home!” Julie answered.

“I don’t think you should.”

“Why not?”

“Tony will be here soon. He wants to talk to you,” he explained.

“Well, I don’t want to talk to him,” she declared.

“It’s important that we solve the problem as soon as possible,” John

added.

“It’s your problem, not mine!” she argued.

“It’s everyone’s problem and you know it,” John continued.

“I’m going!” Julie insisted. Immediately, she went to the door, opened it

and walked out.

Are there any good changes here? What is still missing?

Version 3

As Julie grabbed her bag and stood up, David asked, “Where are you

going?”

“Home!” she answered sharply.

“I don’t think you should.”

“Why not?” She stared at him. She was beginning to dislike him.

“Tony will be here soon. He wants to talk to you,” he explained calmly

but firmly.

He looked into her eyes, waiting for her reaction.

“Well I don’t want to talk to him,” she declared. She was about to

continue towards the door when John suddenly joined the conversation.

Not looking at either of them, he advised, “It’s important that we solve

the problem as soon as possible.”

There was silence for a few seconds, as both Julie and David thought

about their next move.

“It’s . . .” Julie began, not yet sure of her words. “It’s your problem, not

mine!” she argued. She stood her ground, angry.

John continued, slowly but surely. “It’s everyone’s problem and you

know it.” Still he refused to look at her, which made her even angrier.

Seeing that neither John nor David was interested in listening to her,

she decided it was better to leave.

“I’m going!” she insisted.

Without waiting for their response, she marched to the door, opened it

and walked out.

Is this one better? Why?