: Re: Deciding whether to use a dialogue tag or an action tag in a dialogue Example: "I'm not saying you don't know what you are talking about," he said, then looked at her and shrugged

@Frith254

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If it is clear who is speaking, you do not need a dialog tag.

He looked to the side and blushed. "I probably love you."

"He" is looking to the side and blushing, so "he" is the one who speaks. Skip the dialog tag. Add them if you do not have an action tag and it could be unclear to the reader who is speaking.
But this has nothing to do with:

He looked to the side and blushed. "I probably love you."
"I probably love you." He looked to the side and blushed.

Here you are telling two different things. First he cannot stand looking at the other person and then says "I love you." In the second sentence he says he loves the person and then look away. You are telling two different stories.
As an example look at this situation without dialog:

He slapped her. She cried.
She cried. He slapped her.

Two different situation, two different stories. You are switching cause and effect when switching the sentences.

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