Three More Questions

[rosalinda-143.livejournal.com]

Okay, so three more questions that have me confused...

Firstly, commas:

I know all the basics of a comma. What confuses me is how I should use it when listing something out. To word that as a question... well I'll just give you an example and see if I can word it as a question.

Would I write it like this?

I had my five cats: Amber, Richard, Arthur, Camille, and Mr. Mew.

Or this?

I had my five cats: Amber, Richard, Arthur, Camille and Mr. Mew.

I'm pretty sure I was told that I needed a comma before the and if I want the reader to know that Camille and Mr. Mew are two separate cats. But now I'm just not so sure anymore. Any suggestions.

Secondly, capitalization:

Again I know the basics. And again I'll just give you an example.

Would I write it like this?

"Hi, how are you?" He asked.

Or this?

"Hi, how are you?" he asked.

I know that when you end with a comma it doesn't have to be capitalized, but I see the second choice all the time in books, so it had me wondering...

And thirdly, more on capitalization (this kind of ties in with the second question):

My heart gave a wild lurch, I exclaimed, “Holey crap!” And jumped back my heart now racing.

Or...

My heart gave a wild lurch, I exclaimed, "Holey crap!" and jumped back my heart now racing.

Does it depend on the comma after "exclaimed" or the punctuation that come after the "crap" on whether or not I capitalize "and"?

Any answers are much appreciated! Thank you in advanced for listening and answering all my question! I know I must be annoying, but I'm still new to this correct grammar thing.

Thanks again!

peace.love.happiness.

~ J

Comments

[starlight83.livejournal.com]

Even if you've got an entire paragraph of dialogue, you still wouldn't capitalize "he said" afterward.

And if you've got something like:

He said, "An entire paragraph of dialogue!" and walked out the door.

You still wouldn't need to put a capital, so long as what's afterward is part of the same sentence as what came before your dialogue. Though you might not want to construct a sentence this way if you know you have a large speech coming, since your reader might have forgotten the beginning of the sentence by the time they get to the other end of it.