He said, he asked... ?

DTKelly · Oct 23, 2006

Okay, I feel dumb for asking but which is "more" correct? Or rather, which are acceptable?

1. "What time is it," he asked.

2. "What time is it?" he asked.

3. "What time is it," he said.

4. "What time is it?" he said.

alleycat · Oct 23, 2006

No. 2. Or just leave off the tag if it's otherwise clear who's speaking.

Julie Worth · Oct 23, 2006

Number 2 or 4, or leave off the tag. It depends on the context. Maybe you just had an asked, and don't want another one.

Bufty · Oct 23, 2006

In no context, 'he said' 'he asked' implies the reader already knows who is speaking - no?

For that question, I'd use a short prior action tag with a name preferably, or no tag at all if it's clear who is speaking.

Julie Worth · Oct 23, 2006

Bufty said:
In no context, 'he said' 'he asked' implies the reader already knows who is speaking - no?

Not if there is a he and a she.

Bufty · Oct 23, 2006

Agreed, but I think you know what I meant.

DTKelly · Oct 24, 2006

Thanks for the input!

Jamesaritchie · Oct 24, 2006

he asked

I hate it when a question mark is followed by the words "he asked." Talk about redundant. The question mark literally means "he asked." So why write "he asked, he asked," which is exactly what you're doing when you follow a question mark with these words?

There's always a better, smoother way of handling it. And almost always a way of elimination the tag altogether in this situation, no matter who happens to be speaking, or what their gender might be.

scottVee · Oct 26, 2006

I agree with the question mark signifying "he asked". However, if you open a scene with a man and a woman in a room, then say, "What time is it?", it's not clear who said it. If it matters, specify. If not, that's okay.

If the speaker is disconnected or in a stupor, he could state a question instead of asking it. And the rule that "every alternative other than 'said' or 'asked' is bad" is lame. Sure, all those synonyms get overused. But sometimes they do give insight into how we should hear the voice in our heads, where "said" is just sterile. When targeting the audio/video media, you'd be amazed at how many different ways each line can be delivered, so provide some cues to the poor actors.

aghast · Oct 27, 2006

use he asked the same reason why we use we said - by the same logic why even say he said because obviously hes saying something - its just a tag

Maryn · Oct 28, 2006

I agree with Jamesaritchie on this one. The question mark tells us the speaker asked. If it's not clear who spoke, an action or reaction line can make it so without introducing redundancy.

Maryn, who catches herself doing this all the time

Bufty · Oct 28, 2006

No it's not 'just a tag'. To toss tags about thinking they're 'just tags' is dumb - tags serve specific purposes and should be properly used.

I agree with James and Maryn.

aghast said:
use he asked the same reason why we use we said - by the same logic why even say he said because obviously hes saying something - its just a tag

He said, he asked... ?

DTKelly

The Rememberer

alleycat

Still around

Julie Worth

What? I have a title?

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

Julie Worth

What? I have a title?

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

DTKelly

The Rememberer

Jamesaritchie

scottVee

aghast

Maryn

I Tried

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?