Dialogue

31. When Do I Use Commas?

G. Before dialogue introduced by quotations

I. Commas indicate an introduction to a phrase that it is active dialogue by a speaker. This is different from a cited quotation (despite the use of quotation marks that are employed in both instances).

• Example: "Caesar, realizing too late who had betrayed him to the death, said to his old colleague, "Even you, Brutus?""

Notice that the comma here precedes the start of the dialogue.

II. Commas are not used when a quoted citation is employed within a sentence. Note that quotations are not the same as dialogue. This is also true of translated text, which is indicated by quotations but not preceded by a comma.

• Example: “According to Damen, Mesopotamia is a cultural ideal that is "bounded by neither place nor time.""

Here, there is no comma before the quoted section because it operates within the sentence as a contiguous thought. The quotations here only indicate which parts of the language originated with someone else.

• Example: "The word Mesopotamia originated from the Greek and means 'land between the rivers.""

III. Note: When concluding either a quotation or a sectionof dialogue that is parenthetical, introductory, part of a main clause, or otherwise ought end in a comma, make sure to place the comma inside the quotation mark. This goes for all other puncuation--periods, question marks, and the like--that end the quoted passage. The mistake is generally observed with commas more than these other marks, however.

• Example: "Caesar, who famously said, "let the die be cast," was killed in March of 44 BC."

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I.	Commas indicate an introduction to a phrase that it is active dialogue by a speaker. This is different from a cited quotation (despite the use of quotation marks that are employed in both instances).
	• Example: "Caesar, realizing too late who had betrayed him to the death, said to his old colleague, "Even you, Brutus?""
	Notice that the comma here precedes the start of the dialogue.

II.	Commas are not used when a quoted citation is employed within a sentence. Note that quotations are not the same as dialogue. This is also true of translated text, which is indicated by quotations but not preceded by a comma.
	• Example: “According to Damen, Mesopotamia is a cultural ideal that is "bounded by neither place nor time.""
	Here, there is no comma before the quoted section because it operates within the sentence as a contiguous thought. The quotations here only indicate which parts of the language originated with someone else.
	• Example: "The word Mesopotamia originated from the Greek and means 'land between the rivers.""

III.	Note: When concluding either a quotation or a sectionof dialogue that is parenthetical, introductory, part of a main clause, or otherwise ought end in a comma, make sure to place the comma inside the quotation mark. This goes for all other puncuation--periods, question marks, and the like--that end the quoted passage. The mistake is generally observed with commas more than these other marks, however.
	• Example: "Caesar, who famously said, "let the die be cast," was killed in March of 44 BC."