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You are here: Home / Punctuation / Quotation Marks

Quotation Marks

When to use quotation marks

Use quotation marks when you report what someone said or use words taken from a written source.

  • The woman shouted, “Look what I found!”
  • “Don’t go in there at night,” the man warned.
  • According to Smith, “On average, women’s hearing is slightly better than men’s.”
  • “Did you see anyone in the store?” the officer asked.

Use quotation marks for the name of an article in a newspaper or magazine, or for the name of a chapter or short story in a book.

  • I read “Illiteracy in Our Nation,” an article in Time magazine.
  • My favorite short story in Sudden Fiction International is “The Elephant.”

Punctuation guidelines for quotations

Use a comma (or two commas) with an expression such as “he said.”

  • “Try the shop next door,” he suggested.
  • “Don’t open your eyes,” May said, “until I tell you.”

A period or comma at the end of a quotation goes inside the quotation marks.

  • The author tells us that “email has changed the social dynamics of many offices.”
  • “We’re having a surprise party for Sally,” he whispered.

With other punctuation (besides a period or comma), put the punctuation mark inside or outside of the quotation marks, depending on whether it is part of the original quote.

  • “Did I run a stop sign?” asked the driver.
  • “Twenty pushups!” ordered the sergeant.
  • I can’t believe that he said “It doesn’t matter anymore”!
  • Did that sign say “deer crossing”?

(Notice that if you use a question mark or exclamation point at the end of a quote, you do not use a comma there.)
 
http://owl.ccd.edu/writ_resources/handouts/PuncQuo_Exp.html

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