Which sentence is punctuated correctly with dialogue?

Which sentence is punctuated correctly with dialogue?

• A. He said, "Let's go."
• B. He said, "Let's go".
• C. "Let's go," he said.
• D. He said, Let's go.

Answer: (A)

Punctuation with dialogue uses the spoken words in quotation marks, with the end punctuation of that spoken part inside the quotes. When a dialogue tag comes after the spoken sentence, you separate the tag from the quote with a comma placed after the tag, just before the opening quotation mark. That makes the sentence read clearly: He said, "Let's go." The spoken part ends with a period inside the quotation marks, and the tag follows after the comma. This form is preferred here because the spoken line ends with a period inside the quotes, and the tag (he said) comes after the quote, so the comma sits after the tag to separate it from the quoted speech.

Punctuation with dialogue uses the spoken words in quotation marks, with the end punctuation of that spoken part inside the quotes. When a dialogue tag comes after the spoken sentence, you separate the tag from the quote with a comma placed after the tag, just before the opening quotation mark. That makes the sentence read clearly: He said, "Let's go." The spoken part ends with a period inside the quotation marks, and the tag follows after the comma.

This form is preferred here because the spoken line ends with a period inside the quotes, and the tag (he said) comes after the quote, so the comma sits after the tag to separate it from the quoted speech.