Dialogue in Stories
Put the spoken words in quotation marks, then the verb: «Mi venos,» diris Ana.
How It Works
| Style | Example |
|---|---|
| quotation marks | «Mi venos,» diris Ana. |
| other quotation marks | “Mi venos,” diris Ana. |
| a dash for each speaker | – Kiam vi alvenos? – demandis Marta. |
PMEG lists several kinds of quotation marks and says that they are set directly against the quoted words. A quote can end in a comma, a question mark or an exclamation mark, and the speech verb that follows begins with a small letter.
When the speaker is named in the middle of a long speech, both halves keep their marks, and the speech verb sits between them with a comma: “Mi ne povas veni hodiaŭ,” diris Hiro, “sed mi venos morgaŭ.”
A dash opens each new line of dialogue, and the dash style needs no marks around the words. A quotation can be the object of a speech verb, but it takes no -n of its own.
Examples (5)
- «Mi venos,» diris Ana.
"I will come," said Ana.
The quote ends in a comma, and the speech verb follows with a small letter.
- “Bonan tagon!” diris Kofi, kaj ĉiuj ridetis.
"Good day!" said Kofi, and everybody smiled.
An exclamation mark ends the quote, and diris still begins with a small letter.
- “Mi ne povas veni hodiaŭ,” diris Hiro, “sed mi venos morgaŭ.”
"I cannot come today," said Hiro, "but I will come tomorrow."
The speech verb sits between the two halves of the speech.
- “Kiam vi alvenos?” demandis Marta.
"When will you arrive?" asked Marta.
A question mark ends the quote, and demandis follows.
- Ana diris: «Mi ŝatas ĉi tiun libron.»
Ana said: "I like this book."
A colon opens the quote, and the quote takes no -n.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Dialogue in stories builds on direct and reported speech.
Related Patterns
Practice Dialogue in Stories in Bubblegum
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