When I attended a Nursing Documentation workshop, we had laughed so hard at the misspelled words, grammar errors and missing and misplaced punctuation marks in the sample charting. We were guilty of those mistakes, because it was OUR actual charting that we had laughed at. It was fun to make fun of our own mistakes. But beneathe all those laughter lay a very serious mistake. Those mistakes should not have been made. A missing word could mean a lapse in the documentation. A missing comma could mean a different thing. A misplaced period could be fatal. Now what has this got to do with writing a story? Read further and find out.

I realized that I suck at punctuation and quotation marks. When I did a proof-reading of my story, I saw the huge mistakes I made. Imporper use of punctuation marks can alter the meaning of the sentence. If not used properly, the writer will not be able to deliver the precise message he/she wanted to make.

I am no expert what so ever. And I am not writing and giving out tips and advices here. What I am going to write is what I have learned through reading and research. I am still learning, and I want you and me to learn together. 

I am not a grammar Nazi; I swear! I do, however, like to observe the writing styles of famous published books. Like what I said earlier, when I was doing some proof-reading, I came across a dilemna –I was not sure how to use my punctuation marks. And since the asnwers to all my questions is just a few keyboard strokes away, I visited Google and did some surfing in the internet.

Okay, let’s see. Kapag nagsusulat tayo ng dialouges, may mga speaker tags tayo. Ayon sa nabasa ko, ang mga sumusunod na aking ilalahad ay ang accepted na rules sa karamihan. At ayon na rin sa obserbasyon ko, ito nga ang madalas gamitin ng mga manunulat.

1.       Kapag ang speaker tag ay nauna kesa sa dialogue, place a comma after the speaker tag, use the quotations and the first letter of the the first word after the opening quotation mark should be in capital letter. Ang period at the end of the sentence ay nasa loob ng quotaion mark. (Speaker tag ay ang nakabold letters)

Example: Pinkangel remarked, “You’re a really good writer, Ana.”

2.       Kapag ang speaker tag naman ay kasunod ng dialogue, place a comma and not a period inside the quotaion mark. The period should be placed at the end of the speaker tag sentence. Ito madalas kong napansin kong mali sa atin. Isipin natin na ang speaker tag ay parang karugtong pa rin ng sentence o ng dialogue. Kapag period kasi, parang iba na ang meaning o ibang action o movement na ang ginagawa nang nagsalita sa dialogue. (Speaker tag ay ang nakabold letters)

Example: “Ang gando mo ‘te, grabe. Saksakan ka ng ganda,” isinatinig ni Pinkangel.

Pansin niyo ba? It’s because you want to let everyone know that Pinkangel is the one talking. Much better to use a comma instead of a period. Also note that isinatinig is written in small letter and not capital. Kasi CAPITAL letters kapag beginning ng isang sentence, o di kaya ay proper noun ito.

E papaano kung exclamation point (!) o question mark (?) ang nasa dulo? Ganito.

Example: “Ang ganda ko talaga!” saad niya sa sarili niya. –dito kahit walang comma, mas magandang basahin kung naka small letter ang saad kasi parte pa rin ito ng speaker tag –parang karugtong pa rin ito ng sentence. Diba, capital letters kapag beginning ng sentence o proper noun?

E kung ganito?

Example: “Nadedepress talaga ako.” Tumayo siya sa inuupuan at dinampot ang tskolate sa mesa.

Bakit period? Bakit capital letter ang tumayo? Parang ganito kasi yan. Ayon sa nabasa ko sa libro, kaya period kasi tapos na ang dialogue. Kaya capital letter kasi pinapakita mo na after niyang mag-inarte, este, magsalita pala, may ibang action o movement naman siyang ginawa. Parang two different sentence na ito with two different ideas.

3.       May mga panahon rin na ang speaker tag ay nasa gitna ng isang sentence dahil sa tinatawag na interrupted sentence.

Example: “Sa tingin ko,” wika ni Pinkangel, “marami akong mababasang libro sa Wattpad.”

Parang interrupted ang sentence kasi nasa gitna ang speaker tag. So dapat pala:  a.) Sa isang interrupted quotation, ang comma sa unang parte ng dialogue ay nasa loob ng quotation mark, tapos b.) After ng dialogue tag, dapat may comma na kasunod bago magsimula ang karugtong na dialogue, at c.) Sa karugtong na dialogue, after ng opening quotation mark ay dapat small letter ang marami, tapos ang period ay nasa loob ng quotation mark.

Ang reason, isipin natin na isang buong sentence pa rin ito. Di ba, at the end of a sentence dapat may period, question mark or exclamation point? Sa example na ito, dapat nasa loob ng quotation mark punctuation mark.

Iba naman ang kaso nitong sentence: “Sa tingin ko, marami akong mababasang libro sa Wattpad,” wika ni Pinkangel. “Mahilig pa naman akong magbasa ng libro.” –dito kasi, magkaiba na ang thought o idea ng dalawang dialogue. Hindi na siya interrupted sentence.

4.       Dito naman ako madalas magkamali. May mga quotations o dialogue na walang speaker tag. (Sentences are examples from  English Grammar For Dummies, 2nd Edition by Geraldine Woods)

Example: According to the blurb on the book jacket, Anna’s history of geometry is said to be “thrilling and unbelievable” by all who read it.

Example: When Michael said that the book “wasn’t as exciting as watching paint dry,” Anna threw a pie in his face.

Sa sentence na ito, there is no comma before the opening quotation mark and the first word after the opening quotation mark should be in small letter.

HAHAH. Mukhang pinahirapan at ginulo ko na naman ang buhay niyo. Sorry po!

Like what I said, I am not an expert and whenever I encounter a problem, I try to find a solution. I learned these through reading and searching for answers. I want to learn, and I want you to learn as well. ‘Di ba nga, sabay tayong sasalakay sa buong daigdig? World domination!

O ayan. Simpleng mga bagay lang ito pero mkakatulong pa rin. Feel free to correct me. What I have written above was how I understand what I had read in the articles I had come across with. We could learn loads if we share ideas.

Pinkangel loves you! Over and Out.

Reference:

theeditorsblog.net

English Grammar For Dummies, 2nd Edition by Geraldine Woods

Try to check these links para mas maintindihan niyo po ang mga bagay-bagay.

http://theeditorsblog.net/2010/12/08/punctuation-in-dialogue/

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-punctuate-quotations-in-statements.navId-410039.html