quotations
Quotations marks are put around a speaker's exact words. The quoted words are separated from the rest of the sentence with a punctuation mark, usually a comma. The comma always goes before the quotation marks.
- The attribution (speaker identification) at the beginning of the sentence:
Hanrahan swept his arm across the horizon and swore, " Someday this will all belong to me."
(Notice that the period at the end of the quotation goes inside the quotation mark.)
- The attribution in the middle of the quotation:
" I will conquer this land," Hanrahan promised, " and no one will ever take it from me."
(Notice that the comma comes before the quotation marks both before and after the attribution.)
- Attribution at the end:
" Yes, all nations will look up to me," Hanrahan vowed.
end punctuation
If a quotation at the end of a sentence is a statement, the period at the end always goes inside the end quote:
Mary Hanrahan looked at her husband and said, " You'll never get anyplace unless you work for it."
If a quotation is a question, the question mark goes inside the quotation mark:
Hanrahan pointed to his bad haircut and asked, " How can I get a job looking like this?"
" Can't you wear a hat to the job interview?" Mary asked.
(Notice, if the attribution comes after a quoted question, a question mark rather than a comma separates the quotation from the attribution.)
If a sentence containing a quotation is a question but the quotation itself is a statement, the question mark at the end goes after the quotation mark:
Can you believe she said, " Wear a hat to the interview"?
quotations within quotations
In quotations within quotations, the inner quote is enclosed within single quotation marks.
Hanrahan asked his friend, " Did you hear her say 'I never believed him'?"
(Note the location of the question mark in the sentence above. The inner quote is a statement, but the outer quote is a question.)
indirect quotations
Do not use quotation marks unless you quote the exact words of the speaker.
Direct quotation: He said, " I will never surrender!"
Indirect quotation: He said that he would never surrender.
words used as words
Put quotation marks around words used as words.
He always confused " Your" and " You're."
It is also acceptable to use italic for words used as words.
He always confused your and you're.
Click here for quotation marks used in titles
Do you still have questions?
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