I Am So Confused, and Slightly Paranoid

[zannes]

This might be a really stupid question, but have the rules for punctuating dialogue changed recently?

I was taught that it goes like this  -> "I really like this show called Supernatural," he said.

However, I have been seeing this a lot lately -> "I really like this show called Supernatural." He said.

And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. It's been

Comments

[wolfish_willow]

I've noticed that a lot, too. I always have trouble punctuating dialogue in my own fics, trying to follow what I was taught in school. But I've seen a ton of fics where the rules don't seem to apply. Weird...

[zannes]

Good Grammar Costs Nothing! And I will add several more exclamation points to emphasize it!!!!!!

[hunters_retreat]

I was recently told by a beta that I did it wrong because I did it the second way. I've been trying to correct myself ever since, but it's just made me aware that I really need to take a refresher English class :P

[zannes]

I am relieved you caught yourself, as I am about to bash my head in with my laptop. 'He said' is an incomplete thought because he said WHAT? WHAT DID HE SAY?! No one knows because the sentence was horribly mangled! 'He said' cannot legitimately stand on its own merits! *faceplant*

[hunters_retreat]

And this is why I don't beta often :P But I was surprised at how long it took someone to correct me. I still get it wrong but I'm getting better. I think :P

[zannes]

I'm surprised at the sheer number of the "..." He said. that I am seeing, which is why I needed to ask if there's been some laxing of the rules recently. It happens, and my last English class (that was heavily into grammar) was my freshmen year of college.

[eleke]

If you're crazy, then so am I. I was taught that you can do dialogue in two ways:
"I really like Supernatural," he said.
Or.
"I really like Supernatural." He turned to his friend and said, "Don't you?"

But then half of the people I talk to think that 'don't' shouldn't be capitalized, and the other half do, so really I just get awfully confused about the entire thing.

[zannes]

I was always A+ English girl, so if the second way is correct, I'll need to go turn in my high school diploma, which will really make teaching kind of difficult. When I saw it in the first fic, I went to several grammar websites to double check, and the first way is correct. Not the second. The very first time I saw it was with a person for whom English was a second langauge, and they'd been taught incorrectly. Now I don't know what is going on. It's maddening.

[eleke]

Eep, if you say it's wrong I'll bow to your greater knowledge. I remember being taught the basics of grammar in Elementary School and then never had to use them throughout Middle/High School (Ever. My schools relied on easily-gradable multiple-choice sheets and never even had a writing assignment in my Lit classes. There's probably good reasons why my High School was rated third from the bottom in my state.) Therefore, for the past few years I've been having to re-learn everything.

[zannes]

Wrong in my examples, not yours. Your example were good, with proper punctuation and capitalization.

[vichan]

Also acceptable is "I really like this show called 'Supernatural,'" he said.

And then there are apparently weird punctuation rules in the UK, but those involve where the comma is placed, I guess. Your example of what you've been seeing is just plain wrong. People don't believe in basic grammar anymore. :P

[zannes]

I'm beginning to wonder if the writers (and betas) are non-native English speakers.

[vichan]

This is entirely possible.

(And it's funny that you brought it up - I just had a conversation this week with some friends about differing punctuation rules in different countries, even those with English as their primary language.)

[zannes]

I just brought it up because the very first time I saw it, the person told me they'd been taught English by a tutor, but that the tutor hadn't been very good (if I'm recalling correctly).

[blackcat333_99]

I'm pretty sure you have it correctly, at least to the best of my understanding. And while it's been quite a few years since my college English class, the published books I read don't seem to indicate a rules change either. So... I'd just have to say the betas need a refresher on the rules of proper English punctuation.

[zannes]

I checked some of my reading books that I had stacked nearby, and they all used the style of example one. I just wonder how that period thing got started.