We place quotation marks around words that are spoken. The words inside of the quotation marks are always a complete sentence, and that sentence must begin with a capital letter.
Mary said, “Please let me drive the car.”
The words that tell who is speaking are called the speech tag. Put a comma after the speech tag, before the quotation marks.
Bob yelled, “The dog got out of the yard!”
Dad told me, “You have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow afternoon.”
Mom said, “We can take a walk after dinner.”
Always put quotation marks around spoken words, and be sure to begin the spoken words with a capital letter. A comma goes after the speech tag, before the quotation marks.
▶It’s your turn. This sentence is missing quotation marks and a capital letter. Miss Smith said, it is time for recess. Did you fix the mistakes? Good for you!