Question

Which sentence uses quotation marks and commas correctly?
Responses

"My father should be home this afternoon," Leah explained.
"My father should be home this afternoon," Leah explained. - not selected, this is the correct answer

"My father should be home this afternoon, Leah explained."
"My father should be home this afternoon, Leah explained." - incorrect

"My father should be home this afternoon", Leah explained.
"My father should be home this afternoon", Leah explained. - no response given

My father should be home this afternoon," Leah explained."

why is that the correct answer 1 sentence 4th grade work

Answer 1

The first sentence, "My father should be home this afternoon," Leah explained, is correct because it follows the proper punctuation rules for dialogue.

Here’s why it’s correct:

1. **Quotation Marks**: The spoken words are enclosed in quotation marks.
2. **Comma**: After the spoken sentence, a comma is used before the closing quotation mark to separate the dialogue from the tag ("Leah explained").
3. **Tag**: The tag (Leah explained) comes after the dialogue, indicating who is speaking.

In contrast:
- The second option places the comma outside the quotation marks, which is incorrect.
- The third option incorrectly places a comma outside of the quotation marks, which is not how direct speech is punctuated.
- The fourth option is missing the opening quotation mark and has misplaced punctuation at the end.

So, the correct answer is indeed the first sentence!