Which sentence demonstrates correct punctuation with dialogue in American English?

Which sentence demonstrates correct punctuation with dialogue in American English?

• A. He asked, "Are you coming?"
• B. He asked, Are you coming?"
• C. He asked "Are you coming?",
• D. He asked: "Are you coming?"

Answer: (A)

When you have a dialogue tag before the spoken words in American English, you place a comma after the tag and before the opening quotation mark. The spoken line keeps its own punctuation inside the quotation marks. So, He asked, "Are you coming?" shows the correct pattern: a comma after the tag, then the quote, and the question mark stays inside the quotation marks. This form is standard because it clearly ties the attribution to the spoken line without interrupting the quote’s own punctuation. Other forms aren’t correct here: omitting the opening quotation mark makes the dialogue unclear; placing a comma after the closing quotation mark misplaces the punctuation for the introductory tag; using a colon after the tag isn’t the typical punctuation for a simple dialogue introduction in American usage.

When you have a dialogue tag before the spoken words in American English, you place a comma after the tag and before the opening quotation mark. The spoken line keeps its own punctuation inside the quotation marks. So, He asked, "Are you coming?" shows the correct pattern: a comma after the tag, then the quote, and the question mark stays inside the quotation marks.

This form is standard because it clearly ties the attribution to the spoken line without interrupting the quote’s own punctuation. Other forms aren’t correct here: omitting the opening quotation mark makes the dialogue unclear; placing a comma after the closing quotation mark misplaces the punctuation for the introductory tag; using a colon after the tag isn’t the typical punctuation for a simple dialogue introduction in American usage.