comma or period after speech tag: “Don’t worry,” she said, “I felt..

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8769

Senior Member
Japanese and Japan
I came across the following passages today, and I wondered if the use of “comma” there, respectively, was correct.
(1-a) “I have a question,” one of the students suddenly asked, “What are some examples of the way of life in Japan in the Edo period?”
(2-a) “Don’t worry, Keiko,” Jennifer said, “I felt the same thing when I was in Japan.”

I think they should have been:
(1-b) “I have a question,” one of the students suddenly asked. “What are some examples of the way of life in Japan in the Edo period?”
(2-b) “Don’t worry, Keiko,” Jennifer said. “I felt the same thing when I was in Japan.”

Am I correct? I would like your help.
 
    • In the first sentence, you're right: the actual speech has to be two sentences separated by a full stop. But in the second, both full stop and comma can be used. Taking out the speech tag 'Jennifer said', the actual speech can be said/written as one sentence or two:

    Don’t worry, Keiko, I felt the same thing when I was in Japan.
    Don’t worry, Keiko. I felt the same thing when I was in Japan.
     
    I am very happy with the commas instead of the full stops. The sentence covers one train of thought, and the capitalising of 'What...' doesn't mean there has to be a full stop before it, as that second sentence is embedded in the overall sentence. I hope that isn't too muddling!
     
    Change of mind after a bit of background reading...
    If a sentence of direct speech is interrupted by a reporting clause, a comma ends the first part and is followed by a closing quotation mark:
    "People are going over to cable anyway," he says, "so why not see our product there as well?"

    [In the next example], the part following the reporting clause is intended as a new sentence and therefore the medial reporting clause is followed by a period:
    "It can't be far away," said Mary Jane, swivelling her head. "Isn't that a castle on top of the cliff?"

    Source: Oxford English Grammar
    Click to expand...
    ... which is, I think, consistent with etb's advice - and perhaps rather nicely splits the difference with Elwintee :)

    Punctuation is not carved in stone, of course.
     
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