Do we need a colon bnefore the direct speech?

[englishhobby]

Do we need a colon before the direct speech?

I read on some websites that if the direct speech is longer than six words, we'd better use a colon, not a comma, before it. Is it so? Is there a mistake in punctuating the following sentence?

The hare said to the tortoise, "You are so slow that I will beat you very easily. In fact, I feel sorry for you because you are so slow. I know I will defeat you!"

 

[emsr2d2]

Where did you read that very strange rule? It's completely wrong. Colons are used in screenplays (I think) but never in standard writing. It's a comma - every time.

 

[englishhobby]

From here or a similar website:
http://www.vappingo.com/word-blog/colon-or-comma-before-quotation-marks/

Is this information wrong?

 

[emsr2d2]

I didn't go as far as their punctuation "cheat sheet" but, in my opinion, the information given about the difference between a comma and a colon is nonsense. I have never heard anyone suggest that it's based on the number of words in the direct quote.

 

[canadian45]

I see no need for a colon or comma before quoted speech.

The only thing she said was "Don't ask me. I know nothing about it."

p.s. Somewhat related to this, I am not convinced that commas and pauses have a definite relationship. Commas mainly have other functions.

 

[Tdol]

Re: Do we need a colon before the direct speech?

I read on some websites that if the direct speech is longer than six words, we'd better use a colon, not a comma, before it.

I have been a native speaker of British English for half a century without ever coming across this rule.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Re: Do we need a colon before the direct speech?

Yep, it's just wrong. The writer should have stopped at "In truth, it doesn't really matter." Online information is often wrong. Not all website writers know what they're talking about.

As you can see, different people have different opinions. And different situations call for different approaches. Irish writing usually doesn't use quotes at all. It uses a long dash in front and nothing in back. In nonfiction, long quotes have no quotation marks and are indented and separated with spaces before and after the quote.

It's true that sometimes neither a comma or colon is needed. There's a difference between The next thing she said was "Stop it!" and Next, she said, "Stop it!" In the first, "Stop it!" is the sentence's object and should not have a comma. In the second, it's a dependent clause and should.

Colons are never needed, but sometimes writers use them for emphasis.

In fairness, I did once read an odd rule (different from yours) on when to use commas and colons. But I've never seen anything in actual writing to support it, so I think our rule writers are sometimes just tripping.