B2 Lesson 4: Using Dialogue Effectively
You have learned to develop characters through their actions and thoughts. Today, we will learn how to make your characters even more real by letting them speak. Using dialogue1 (when characters talk) is one of the most powerful tools in narrative writing.
Why Use Dialogue?
Good dialogue does more than just fill the page. It has several important jobs:
- It Reveals Character: What a person says and how they say it shows their personality.
- It Advances the Plot: Characters can share important information or make decisions.
- It Creates Tension: Arguments and disagreements create excitement.
- It Breaks Up Text: It adds white space to the page and makes the story easier to read.
The Rules of Punctuating Dialogue
To write dialogue correctly, you must follow specific punctuation rules. These are very important for making your writing clear and professional.
Rule 1: Use Quotation Marks. Put quotation marks2 (" ") around the exact words the character speaks.
Rule 2: Use Dialogue Tags. A dialogue tag3 like "he said" or "she asked" tells the reader who is speaking.
Rule 3: Punctuation Goes Inside. The comma, period, question mark, or exclamation mark always goes inside the final quotation mark.
Rule 4: New Speaker, New Paragraph. This is the most important formatting rule. Every time the speaker changes, you must start a new paragraph (a new line).
Dialogue in Action: A Deconstructed Scene
Look at this short conversation and notice how all the rules are applied.
"What should we do this weekend?" Dara asked as he looked up from his phone.
Vuthy thought for a moment. "I'm not sure," he replied slowly. "I was thinking we could take a trip to the countryside, but the weather forecast looks bad."
"That's a shame!" Dara exclaimed, letting out a sigh. "I really wanted to get out of the city."
"Well," Vuthy said with a smile, "what about the new Marvel movie instead?"
✍️ B2 Dialogue Checklist
When you write dialogue, check for these five things:
- ✔️ Have I put quotation marks around all the spoken words?
- ✔️ Is all ending punctuation ( . , ? ! ) correctly placed inside the quotation marks?
- ✔️ Have I started a new paragraph every time the speaker changes?
- ✔️ Does the dialogue sound realistic4 for the characters and situation?
- ✔️ Have I used stronger dialogue tags than "said" (e.g., asked, replied, exclaimed) where appropriate?
🧠 Practice Quiz: Punctuating Dialogue
Choose the correctly punctuated sentence.
- "I am not sure", he said.
- "I am not sure," he said.
- "I am not sure." he said.
Answer: B. The comma must go inside the quotation marks when the dialogue tag comes after.
- She asked, "What time is it?"
- She asked "What time is it?".
- She asked, "What time is it"?.
Answer: A. A comma is used after the dialogue tag, and the question mark goes inside the final quotation mark.
📝 Homework: Write a Short Scene
Get your notebook and pen. Your task is to write a short, realistic scene with dialogue.
Scenario: Two friends are at a cafe. One friend (Friend A) tells the other (Friend B) some surprising news. (For example: "I won the lottery," or "I'm moving to another country," or "I got a new job.")
Your Task: Write the short conversation (about 4-6 lines of dialogue). You must follow all the punctuation and formatting rules from today's lesson. Show Friend B's surprise through their words.
Vocabulary Glossary
- Dialogue: (Noun) - ការសន្ទនា - A conversation between two or more people in a book, play, or movie. ↩
- Quotation Marks: (Noun) - សញ្ញាសម្រង់ (" ") - Punctuation marks used to show the beginning and end of a character's spoken words. ↩
- Dialogue Tag: (Noun Phrase) - ឃ្លាប្រាប់អ្នកនិយាយ - The phrase that identifies the speaker, such as "he said" or "she asked". ↩
- Realistic / Authentic: (Adjective) - ដូចការពិត - Seeming real and true to life. ↩
- To reveal: (Verb) - បង្ហាញ - To make something known that was secret or previously unknown.