I told you!

[BWFoster78]

A question arose on the Showcase that neither I nor the author of the piece seem to have a good handle on.

If I'm using "said" for my speech tag, I'd (obviously) punctuate like this:

"This is the proper punctuation," Brian said.

Which of the following is correct, however:

1. "This is the proper punctuation," Brian told the forum.
2. "This is the proper punctuation." Brian told the forum.

Number 1 treats "Brian told the forum" as a speech tag just like "said." Number 2 treats the phrase like a complete sentence (a type of action tag almost?).

Thanks.

Brian

 

[Devor]

I'm pretty sure that "Brian told the forum" is not a complete sentence without the quote. Unless I'm mistaken, "told" needs a referenceto be complete. Brian told this to the forum. That's what Brian told the forum. Brian told the forum about that. "That's right," Brian told the forum.

 

[FifthView]

"To tell" can be and often is a transitive verb. In which case, the speech, even in quotes, is an object, or part of the same sentence. So it's #1.

 

[Svrtnsse]

I'm pretty sure that "Brian told the forum" is not a complete sentence without the quote. Unless I'm mistaken, "told" needs a referenceto be complete. Brian told this to the forum. That's what Brian told the forum. Brian told the forum about that. "That's right," Brian told the forum.

I guess it could technically be the same told as in "He sure told them" but even then it'd be pretty awkward as a sentence.

 

[Nimue]

That's my issue with it, is that "Brian told the forum." as a freestanding sentence doesn't seem to be linked to the dialogue. I noticed that I've been using "told" as a dialogue tag a little more often recently and I want to make sure it's not a bad habit that I've gotten into. There's just a bit of iffiness to it for me because "told" is most often used when the dialogue isn't explicit, as in "She told me the story."

Obviously it's not a tag I'd use all the time, and only when there is a specific object/recipient for the dialogue and this other character is actually being informed of something. Are there any other conditions to using "told," or any reasons to be wary of it?

 

[Penpilot]

To me it's a speech tag.

Told=Said.

So, you could replace 'told' with 'said to' and have it mean pretty much the same the same thing. "...," Brian said to the forum.

 

[Zadocfish]

What Penipilot said. #1 looks really, really wrong.

 

[Ireth]

What Penipilot said. #1 looks really, really wrong.

But... Penpilot said that #1 was the right choice.

I agree, "told" is a speech tag like "said".

 

[Zadocfish]

Sorry, I meant to say #2 looks wrong. I forgot which one was which.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

The first one is definately correct. The second one is problematic because the second complete sentence reads as an incomplete sentence without an object as the subject of the action. Brian told the forum - leaves people wondering what he told the forum. Having it linked to the first phrase of the sentence, makes it complete, because it then becomes obvious what he told the forum. But as an alternative you could have a different object and two complete sentences. -

"This is the proper punctuation." Brian told the forum what he thought.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Nimue]

So, BW, do I get to say......I told you so?

>:3

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

So, BW, do I get to say......I told you so? >:3

You should make him say:

I completely agree with you, Nimue.

 

[Nimue]

Oh no, that's dangerous stuff--we don't want to break the forum!