[c.] In representing dialogue, each speech, no matter how short, is placed in a separate paragraph.
- Right:
- "Listen!" he said. "There was a noise outside. Didn't you hear it?"
- "No," I whispered. It was dark in the room, except for a faint light at the window, and I felt my way cautiously to his side. "What is it? Burglars?"
- "I believe it is."
- "I can't hear anything."
- "Listen! There it is again."
- "Pshaw!" I had to laugh aloud. "Thompson's cow has got into the garden again."
"Listen!" he said. "There was a noise outside. Didn't you hear it?"
"No," I whispered. It was dark in the room, except for a faint light at the window, and I felt my way cautiously to his side. "What is it? Burglars?"
"I believe it is."
"I can't hear anything."
"Listen! There it is again."
"Pshaw!" I had to laugh aloud. "Thompson's cow has got into the garden again."
Note that a slight amount of descriptive matter may be included in a paragraph with the direct discourse, the only requirement being that a change of speaker shall be indicated by a new paragraph.
When special emphasis is desired, a quotation may be detached from a preceding introductory statement.
- Right:
- The speaker turned gravely about, and facing the front row, he said slowly and solemnly:
- "Small boys should be seen and not heard."
In exceptional cases a long, rapid-fire dialogue may, for purposes of compression, be placed in one paragraph. Dashes should then be used before successive quotations to indicate a change of speaker.
Omissions from a dialogue (as when only one side of a telephone conversation is reported), long pauses, and the unfinished part of interrupted statements, may be represented by a short row of dots.
Exercise:
Arrange in paragraphs, and insert quotation marks: