Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[sabrinak]

Please help me about the following word order:



"That's right," Grandpa answered.
"What's wrong?" Ted asked.


According to most reading books I have read, the order should be:

"That's right," answered Grandpa.
"What's wrong?" asked Ted.

What I want to know is whether both ways are okay and correct.

Or just one way is okay? Could you explain this please?


I would appreciate your help a lot.

[CP]

The usual word order:

"That's right," answered Grandpa.
or
Grandpa answered, "That's right."

"What's wrong?" asked Ted.
or
Ted asked, "What's wrong?"

I wouldn't say it's wrong to use the less usual word order:

"That's right," Grandpa answered.
"What's wrong?" Ted asked.

But you probably won't see it that way very much. You might use the less usual word order for emphasis, or for variation in a particular piece of colloquy, or something like that.
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[hiromi525]

Thank you, CP

I have an exactly same question.
I learned a lot about the usage today.