Page 917 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

3. When a sentence is written as a split quotation, commas are
placed in front of the quotation marks:

“If it had not been for Hal,” said the supervisor, “I don’t know

what we would have done.”

Practice 23-5 Using Commas

with Direct Quotations

Insert commas to set off direct quotations in the following sentences.

1. Karin asked “Would you mind helping me move this ladder?”

2. “If you are not going to watch television” said Patrick “let me

have the remote control.”
3.“I can never remember where I put my keys ” said Mike.

4.“You may like that herbal tea” said Gerry “but it tastes like

dishwater to me.”

5. Ben Franklin said “Lost time is never found again.”