Direct speech

[irmamar]

I'm studying the vocabulary from a tale. I have a question about the order of a sentence in direct speech. For instance:

"Thank you", said the frog.

Shouldn't it be?:

"Thank you", the frog said.

In another sentence I can see:

"There you are", he said.

Why the subject of the sentence follows the verb in some sentences but not in all of them?

Thanks.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Why the subject of the sentence follows the verb in some sentences but not in all of them?

why does the subject follow?... It's just style, I think. That fact is that the rythym of the sentence "thank you" said the frog is much nicer than the rythym of "thank you" the frog said. They are both correct and interchangeable. However, it would be pretentious or literary to end a sentence with he, so a totally natural pair of sentences would be

"thank you" said the frog
"don't mention it" he said

I think that in the kind of story you are reading, they are alternated for just for variation, so you don't get a tedious repetion of
'bla bla' he said
'bla bla' she replied
'bla bla bla' he said .....

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by Perikles

why does the subject follow?... It's just style, I think. That fact is that the rythym of the sentence "thank you" said the frog is much nicer than the rythym of "thank you" the frog said. They are both correct and interchangeable. However, it would be pretentious or literary to end a sentence with he, so a totally natural pair of sentences would be

"thank you" said the frog
"don't mention it" he said

I think that in the kind of story you are reading, they are alternated for just for variation, so you don't get a tedious repetion of
'bla bla' he said
'bla bla' she replied
'bla bla bla' he said .....

But sometimes you WOULD say: "blah blah blah" said the frog, as he jumped off of his lily pad and swam away.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by laepelba

But sometimes you WOULD say: "blah blah blah" said the frog, as he jumped off of his lily pad and swam away.

(He would probably say "croak croak croak") but that is indeed what I said in my post: ... said the frog has a better rythym than .... the frog said.

What's that song? "Ha ha" said the clown ....

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by Perikles

(He would probably say "croak croak croak") but that is indeed what I said in my post: ... said the frog has a better rythym than .... the frog said.

What's that song? "Ha ha" said the clown ....

Wow - I'm confused. I think it must be time for a nap or something. I had to re-read a few times. Yeah - I agree that it has a nicer rhythm. But I think that I've seen it used both ways, and if it's at a different part of the sentence, it might be worded one way or the others. Don't you think?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Wow - I'm confused. I think it must be time for a nap or something. I had to re-read a few times. Yeah - I agree that it has a nicer rhythm. But I think that I've seen it used both ways, and if it's at a different part of the sentence, it might be worded one way or the others. Don't you think?

Er - yes, that was the gist of my post. Time for a nap, methinks.

[bobjenkins]

Originally Posted by irmamar

I'm studying the vocabulary from a tale. I have a question about the order of a sentence in direct speech. For instance:

"Thank you," said the frog.

Shouldn't it be?:

"Thank you," the frog said.

In another sentence I can see:

"There you are," he said.

Why the subject of the sentence follows the verb in some sentences but not in all of them?

Thanks.

Las ambas maneras para escribirlo son correctas

Excepto la posición de la coma


"Thank you," said the frog
"Thank you!" said the frog
No sé el porqué, pero me suenan correctas las frases.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by bobjenkins

Las ambas maneras para escribirlo son correctas

Excepto la posición de la coma


"Thank you," said the frog
"Thank you!" said the frog
No sé el porqué, pero me suenan correctas las frases.

Ambas maneras de escribirlo son correctas.

Las dos maneras de escribirlo son correctas

[bobjenkins]

Originally Posted by chileno

Ambas maneras de escribirlo son correctas.

Las dos maneras de escribirlo son correctas

gracias!

[irmamar]

¿La coma (,) va antes de las comillas (")? No tengo el libro aquí, ya lo miraré.

I guess this construction is only used in written language, isn't it?

Don't worry, Lou Ann, you're not ruining anything.