Dialogue and Quotation Marks — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Which sentence is correctly punctuated?
A) "Hi," she said.
B) "Hi", she said.
C) "Hi" she said,
D) "Hi". she said.
The comma must go inside the closing quote, not outside it, in American writing.
2. Which option shows a correct paragraph break for a new speaker?
A) "Hello," said Tom and "Hi," said Sam together one line.
B) Tom said, "Hello." New line, Sam said, "Hi."
C) Tom and Sam shouted hello together with no quotes used.
D) Tom said hello and Sam said hi, no quotes used.
Starting a new paragraph for each speaker keeps the conversation clear for readers.
3. Which line correctly uses an action beat with dialogue?
A) "I'm leaving," Jane stood up, "Goodbye."
B) "I'm leaving" Jane stood up "Goodbye".
C) "I'm leaving." Jane stood up. "Goodbye."
D) "I'm leaving," said Jane stood up walked out.
Each action beat ends with a period, and dialogue is enclosed in quotation marks separately.
4. Which sentence shows a correctly punctuated embedded quotation?
A) She said, "He told me "good luck" yesterday."
B) She said, "He told me good luck yesterday."
C) She said, He told me 'good luck' yesterday.
D) She said, "He told me 'good luck' yesterday."
Embedded quotations use single quotation marks inside the surrounding double quotes.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. "Watch out!" Ben yelled. He pointed at the falling branch.
Action beats give visual context that explains the dialogue and the warning given.
2. "I think," she said slowly, "that we should wait first."
Interrupted dialogue uses commas inside both quote pairs to surround the dialogue tag.
3. Each new speaker in a story begins a new paragraph.
New paragraphs for new speakers visually separate voices and prevent confusion.
4. "He said, 'Be brave,'" Mom whispered.
Single quotation marks open and close a quote inside another quoted speech.
5. An action beat ends with a period; a dialogue tag ends with a comma.
Dialogue tags use commas to link to the quoted words, while beats stand as full sentences.