Quotation marks are used whenever a quote (the words someone else said) or dialogue (the words a character or person is saying) is used in a text.
Quotation marks are used around the exact words a speaker said in a text.
Example: “Eat your veggies,” my mom said.
In this sentence, the exact words the mom said were “Eat your veggies,” so they are put inside a pair of quotation marks.
Comma
Commas are used in many different ways in writing. Commas are used with:
1. A comma is used before the coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) in a compound sentence.
Example: You can wear my sunglasses, and I can wear my hat.
A compound sentence is two, complete thoughts joined by a coordinating conjunction and a comma. In this sentence, “and” is the coordinating conjunction.
2. A comma comes before quotation marks when who or what is speaking comes before a quote.
Example: The principal warned, “Don’t run in the halls.”
The principal is speaking, and a comma is used before quotation marks that show exactly what he or she said.
3. A comma comes at the end of a quote, and before quotation marks, when who or what is speaking comes after the quote.
Example: “Don’t run in the halls,” the principal warned.
A comma is used before the final quotation marks because the quote comes before who or what is speaking.
4th Grade Writing - Commas Lesson