Learn Italian: «Qui mancano le virgolette», disse il redattore. - "The quotation marks are missing here," the editor said.

In written Italian, when reporting direct speech, the subject typically follows the verb in the reporting clause. This inversion (putting the verb before the subject) is a standard stylistic practice for dialogue tags like disse il redattore ('said the editor') or rispose lei ('she replied').

Why is the verb mancano in the plural here?

Because its subject is the plural noun le virgolette (the quotation marks). Just like in the reporting clause, this is another example of a post-verbal subject! In Italian, with verbs that indicate existence, lacking, or arriving (like mancare, piacere, or succedere), the subject very frequently follows the verb. The sentence is literally structured as 'Here, are lacking the quotation marks'.

Where does the word virgolette come from?

It is the diminutive plural form of virgola (comma). So virgolette literally translates to 'little commas'. It is the standard Italian word for quotation marks, regardless of whether they are the printed chevron style used in this sentence or standard high double commas.

Why use the passato remoto (disse) instead of the passato prossimo (ha detto)?