Grammatical question plznthx

[orionsroad]

Okay!! This has been driving me nuts. I keep thinking it's one way, and then changing my mind. So, another question, for those in the grammatical know:

When you split up speech with description, what are the punctuation rules?

For example, the line:

"No," he shook his head tiredly. "It wasn't meant to be like this." Is 'he' meant to be

Comments

[chloe1910]

For me, if after the no is a comma, 'he' would not be capitalised. Anyway, in this context, since "he shook head tiredly" is in reference to the "No", I would not capitalise it too.

I will capitalise "It" cause it's a new sentence. I'm not sure if I'm right or wrong but that's what I learned and usually how I write.

[orionsroad]

The way I wrote it is what I usually think is right, but I'm really, really not sure anymore. ^^; It makes sense though that if there is a comma, the next word would not be capitalised, as you say.

Aish, why is english so damned complicated??? Bah. :P

Thanks dear!

[milena_1980]

'He' isn't meant to be capitalized. About the comma and 'it', I've seen the following:

"No," he shook his head tiredly, "it wasn't meant to be like this."

Unless you mean for the "it . . ." to be a new sentence.

*goes check her grammar books*

[orionsroad]

The problem that I see with the comma/it thing is that if there is a comma after 'tiredly', then the sentence doesn't end? Because, (as my brain is arguing it at the moment), 'he shook his head tiredly' is not part of the sentence "No, it wasn't meant to be like this." and therefore the full stop only ends that sentence. If, er, that makes any sense?

[milena_1980]

Ok, just grabbed one of Faulkner's novels and found the following sentence:

"You better stay here tonight," I says, "and get a early start for New Hope tomorrow morning."

I've seen this in many novels, therefore, as long as it is one sentence, it's allowed. 'he shook his head tiredly' is separated from the main sentence with the quoting marks, so I think it's correct to use it.

I'll let you know if I find something more "official"" ^^;;

[orionsroad]

XD Faulkner seems quite trustworthy. Heh.

Thanks for that! I guess for the moment I'll do it either way...

"No," he shook his head tiredly. "It wasn't meant to be like this."
or
"No," he shook his head tiredly, "it wasn't meant to be like this."

[t_i_ra_mi_su]

What you have right up there is correct. :)

However, if you want to go with a comma after tiredly, you'd end up with:

"No," he shook his head tiredly, "it wasn't meant to be like this."

Personally, however, I adhere to the former (the one with the full stop). :)

[orionsroad]

Thanks for clarifying!

And sorry, just to question even further... in the case of:
"No," he shook his head tiredly, "it wasn't meant to be like this."

The full stop at the end of the quoted sentence also ends the ‘he shook his head tiredly’ sentence?

[t_i_ra_mi_su]

Yeah, basically, if you look at the whole sentence, it would be that the person shook his head tiredly while saying, "No, it wasn't meant to be like this." So, in essence, you've got one whole sentence, of which the full stop at the end nicely ties up altogether. :) Hope that made sense.

Although, if you're unsure, your best bet would probably to go with the full stop after 'tiredly'. I guess the important thing is just to remember parallelism - remember that if you choose to go with a full stop, you have to capitalize the first letter of the next quote, while if you choose to go with the comma, your next quote should start in the lowercase. :) Pick one style, so to speak, and stick to it. Consistency is the key. :D /not making sense

Hope this helps. :D

[orionsroad]

Okay, that makes sense.

Thanks for taking the time to explain. ^_^ I'll probably stick with the fullstop-capital, but it's good to know the other one anyway just in case and also for betaing.

Again, thank you! ^_^

[orionsroad]

Logically, that's what I'd assume too. It's just... a bit confusing. ^^; Stupid English language.

Thanks though. ^_^

[bellasurus]

i think if there's a said then you add a comma?

like:

"No," he said, shaking his head tiredly, "I'd rather not."

or can be separate, i think, it depends on the dialogue itself~

[orionsroad]

Well, you're right about the said - which I need actually for the sentence to be correct at all. >_< ARUHIUFD. I don't know enough about grammar, frsrs. >_< ^^;