Punctuation—Quotation Marks (“ ”)

Punctuation—Quotation Marks (“ ”)

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Quotation Mark Uses
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Quotation Mark Uses

Rules

Quotation marks are used to enclose a quote repeated word for word.

When using a full sentence of a direct quote, the first word is capitalized.

Examples

Enclosing a quote

Selina the inventor complaining to her cat that he never answers when she calls him.

Douglas Addams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 1979

Fluffy the cat meeting a new kitten with some dread.

Ernest Hemingway, Enerst hemingway Selected Letters, 1917-1961, 1981

Be careful!

Quotation Marks and Punctuation

Periods and commas are always placed inside the quotation marks.

Any other punctuation mark:

When part of the original quote: placed inside quotation marks.
When not part of the original quote: placed outside quotation marks.

Examples of punctuation inside and outside quotation marks.

Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt, 2002
Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, 1980
Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland, 1865
Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes, 1985-1995

Find out more!

The Single Quotation Marks ( ‘ ’ )

Single quotation marks should be used to indicate a quote inside a quote.

For example:

Fluffy later asked Selina: “Do you remember who said ‘If everyone listened to me. The world would be perfect^[7]’?”

However, some authors use them instead of the “ “ double quotation marks.

Charles Schultz, Peanuts, 1950-200

See Also

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