While a tag may not be wrong, it may not be appropriate either. That aside, you need to look at the tags you use in the context of the overall piece of writing. Then it's, at least semantically, okay to use. So, at least in a standalone sentence, you can use whatever dialogue tag you want-so long as the tag is a verb that is applicable to the expression of words. Also, thinking again of sentence reversal, while you can easily say the words "What is this?" it avoids the somewhat strange concept of screaming in frustration the words "What is this?" Because we don't read the man screamed in frustration, it doesn't interfere with the normal flow of dialogue-but the action itself is still described. This third sentence conveys the same meaning as the second sentence-except that no dialogue tag is used. It's one of those things that, in grammar, would be considered technically incorrect, yet still idiomatically okay. Because of that, it's not unusual to see it. Nonetheless, this is one of those tags that people do seem to use more often than they strictly should. "Leave me alone." All I could do was implore her to stop. "Leave me alone," I whispered, imploring her to stop. I might use it anyway, but hopefully there'd be a specific reason for me to do so rather than to rephrase it: So, strictly speaking, this isn't a tag that should be used. Hopefully they are making a conscious decision to do so-again, for stylistic effect-rather than not understanding. Although some authors will use dialogue tags that are, strictly speaking, wrong. This actually is one of the few instances where it's more about grammar (at least semantics) than it is about style. and then the frog turned into a princess." She laughed. and then the frog turned into a princess," she said, laughing. and then the frog turned into a princess," she said laughingly. If you want to express laughter, for instance, you have to turn it into an adverb, an aside, or dispense with the dialogue tag altogether: and then the frog turned into a princess." and then the frog turned into a princes." It's often easier to tell if an action word is even a possible dialogue tag if you reverse the sentence: When you do use a dialogue tag, make sure that it's semantically correct. No dialogue tags were used because the context, actual speech, and surrounding narrative make it clear who is saying what to whom. That's just-" She didn't know what to say next. If that can be conveyed without them, then you don't need to use them.įor example, suppose there are only two people, Mary and John, in a room: Dialogue tags are only used to make it clear who's speaking. If every paragraph of dialogue includes that tag, it can become repetitive-and what is normally invisible becomes noticeable. However, using them is not unusual.Įven with said, you don't want to overdue it. They are (obviously) used only when questions are asked or answered-but they don't always need to be used, or even ever used at all. In addition to said, there are other a couple of other tags that can also be used somewhat routinely, although not normally as often: asked and replied. If you use it all the time, it will become annoying-because readers will find themselves constantly distracted. But most people would say to avoid something like that unless you really do want to make an exception. Sometimes this can be used for an explicit and specifically intended effect. Because it's so unusual, it stands out and takes you out of the smooth flow of the story. The second version is a tag you don't normally see. "What is this?" the man screamed in frustration. The reason that said is used more often than any other tag is because that's just how it's come to be-and, since that's true, nobody pays attention to the use of the word when you read said, you don't normally process it consciously. In other words, you don't want the tags you use in the middle of speech to distract from the speech itself. You generally want to use dialogue tags that are invisible. So, different people will have different opinions. Having said that, the first thing about dialogue tags is that they are mostly more a matter of style than of grammar. So, demanded, strictly speaking, is not a semantically viable tag. While you can say a word, you can't demand a word.The short answer to your specific question is in two parts:
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