Question

which sentence is written correctly?

• zev exclaimed when he opened the door, \welcome to my home!\
• zev exclaimed when he opened the door, \welcome to my home!\
• zev exclaimed when he opened the door, \welcome to my home!\
• zev exclaimed when he opened the door, \welcome to my home!\

Explanation:

🆕 New Concept Discovered: Formatting Dialogue and Quotations
Rules for capitalizing and punctuating direct speech

Step 1: Analyze capitalization of direct quotes

When writing a direct quotation that is a complete sentence, the first word inside the quotation marks must be capitalized.

• Incorrect: ...door, "welcome to my home!" (lowercase "w")
• Correct: ...door, "Welcome to my home!" (capitalized "W")

This eliminates the fourth option.

Step 2: Analyze capitalization of common nouns

Common nouns like "door" and "home" should not be capitalized unless they begin a sentence or are part of a proper noun/title.

• The first option incorrectly capitalizes "To My Home" inside the quote: "Welcome To My Home!"
• The second option incorrectly capitalizes "Door": ...opened the Door...

This leaves the third option as the only candidate with correct capitalization.

Step 3: Verify punctuation and spacing

The third option reads:
Zev exclaimed when he opened the door, "Welcome to my home!"

• A comma correctly separates the introductory clause from the direct quotation.
• The first word of the quote ("Welcome") is capitalized.
• The common nouns ("door", "home") are lowercase.
• The exclamation point is correctly placed inside the quotation marks.

Answer:

Zev exclaimed when he opened the door, "Welcome to my home!"