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Q&A

Using ”as” after dialogue tags

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Should a comma be used after a dialogue tag and before the word ”as”.

For example:

”I don’t like this at all, ” he said, as the door closed behind them.
Or
”I don’t like this at all, ” he said as the door closed behind them.

Is the comma required? Is this proper to extend a sentence after a dialogue tag?

Thank you!

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This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/46582. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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2 answers

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Commas tell you when to breathe.

They can be for actual pauses (as when you read it out loud and take a brief pause) or they can be to tell your brain how to break down the sentence.

Either way, add a comma in both places.

  1. After dialogue that is followed by a tag.
  2. Before an "as" clause.
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It is fine to extend a sentence after a tag, and the first form is correct: "he said" should also be followed by a comma.

"I don't like this at all," he said, as the door closed behind them.

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