Dialogue tags are phrases placed before, in the middle of, or after dialogue. The purpose of dialogue tags is to attribute spoken words to a character.
Some examples:
“Come a little closer,” she said.
The little boy asked, “Can I have some?”
“Don’t be a sissy,” said Bill. “Let’s get back in line and ride this beast again.”
Dialogue tags stay outside of the quotes and get separated by a comma. But other rules apply in different situations. See our How to Format Dialogue article for all of the specifics.
