Capitalisation of dialogue qualifiers§

urbanespaceman · Feb 10, 2009

Does this ever happen?

Until now I've been writing

"Stop that!" He said.

Using a capital "H" where the speech ends with an exclamation mark or a question mark, since that would be the rule in standard prose. It seems people are picking me up on it and it should be

"Stop that!" he said.

Is this correct? Are there any instances where a capital "H" would be appropriate, or do these qualifiers always start with a lower case?

dpaterso · Feb 10, 2009

Use the lowercase version since the same sentence continues after the closing double quote, you're not starting a new sentence.

The only instances I can think of to use a capital "H" is if God is speaking, or if your character is actually called "He" -- and if I remember correctly Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat novels featured such a character.

-Derek

Willowmound · Feb 10, 2009

Do you read books at all? Was that snarky? Well, a lot of things become clear if you pay attention to how professionals do it. And I mean, a lot.

Maryn · Feb 10, 2009

Yeah, I'd say that was snarky.

Maryn, ultimate arbiter

girlyswot · Feb 10, 2009

urbanespaceman said:
Are there any instances where a capital "H" would be appropriate, or do these qualifiers always start with a lower case?

If the following verb is a verb of speech, then the dialogue (even if it contains complete sentences in its own right) is considered part of the whole sentence, so you wouldn't use a capital letter.

However, if the following verb describes some other action, simultaneous with the speech, then that needs a new sentence and hence a capital letter.

So: 'Are you joking?' he asked.
All one sentence, no capital letter.

But: 'Are you joking?' He raised an eyebrow at her.
Two sentences, capital letter.

Bufty · Feb 10, 2009

Whether you end with an exclamation mark or a question mark, it's the same format as if you ended with a comma, UNLESS you genuinely intend that what follows the dialogue should be read as a new sentence, e.g.,

"Hey! Wait for me!" he shouted as he barged through the crowd.

"Hey! Wait for me!" He shouted as he barged through the crowd.

These are not suggestions - they're illustrations only and they convey subtly different images.

Kathleen42 · Feb 10, 2009

urbanespaceman said:
Does this ever happen?

Until now I've been writing

"Stop that!" He said.

Using a capital "H" where the speech ends with an exclamation mark or a question mark, since that would be the rule in standard prose. It seems people are picking me up on it and it should be

"Stop that!" he said.

Is this correct? Are there any instances where a capital "H" would be appropriate, or do these qualifiers always start with a lower case?

The only instance where it would start with an uppercase H is, as pointed out, when referring to a deity or if it is a completely new sentence.

Bufty's examples are really good. In the first, he's shouting the words "Hey! Wait for me!". In the second, we can assume that he's shouting those words (thanks to the exclamation mark) and that he carries on shouting as he makes his way through the crowd.

The book suggestion (the question of snarkiness aside) is a good one. When in doubt, pick up a few books and flip through them to see how other writer's are doing things. We all have gaps in our knowledge.

urbanespaceman · Feb 10, 2009

Thanks all.

And yes, the book suggestion was very snarky. Not the suggestion but the phrasing. I guess it's your intent to put people off asking questions for some strange reason?

I had in fact flipped through the book I had to hand - specific examples aren't that easy to find (at least not in that one) where the next word is "he" or "she" and not somebody's name, which has a capital letter anyway. I thought some wise person here would have the answer (which they did). I didn't expect some idiot that thinks they're better than everybody else to take a potshot.

The forum is called Grammar for Grashoppers. And for the record I my grammar is likely much better than yours, o wise willow person that didn't even bother to answer the actual question.

dpaterso · Feb 10, 2009

And on that friendly note, since the question has been asked and answered, closing thread.

-Derek

Capitalisation of dialogue qualifiers§

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