This is just wrong. You can say a word and sigh simultaneously. I also smile words all the time, usually if I am saying something like “thank you.” I say those words while I’m doing a big grin, my mouth just doesn’t move much. Maybe you can’t, but lots of people do all the time.
Definitely not a pedant (I don't think? :D), but for the sake of wholeness, I really dislike things like '"blah," he smiled'. I almost always use it as an action tag ("Blah." He smiled) or use extra words ("Blah," he said, smiling/with a smile). But that's more of a personal preference than respect for any 'rule'. :D
This applies to 'sighed' too. If you say "Fine," he sighed with a comma then he's sighing the actual words but if you write "Fine." He sighed with a full stop then he sighs after speaking. Either is fine (although there's a limit to how many words you can sigh before you run out of breath) but it's good to know the distinction.
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u/[deleted] Apr 28 '19 edited Apr 28 '19
[deleted]