english grammar - quotation marks

7/29/2019 English Grammar - Quotation Marks

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USEQUOTATIONMARKS [ ]TOSETOFFMATERIALTHATREPRESENTSQUOTEDORSPOKENLANGUAGE. Quotation marks also set off the titles of things that do not normally stand

by themselves: short stories, poems, and articles. Usually, a quotation is set off from the rest of

the sentence by a comma; however, the typography of quoted material can become quite

complicated. Here is one simple rule to remember:

In the United States, periods and commas go inside quotation marks regardless of logic.Click HERE for an explanation (sort of).

In the United Kingdom, Canada, and islands under the influence of British education,

punctuation around quotation marks is more apt to follow logic. In American style, then, you

would write: My favorite poem is Robert Frost's "Design." But in England you would write: My

favorite poem is Robert Frost's "Design". The placement of marks other than periods and

commas follows the logic that quotation marks should accompany (be right next to) the text

being quoted or set apart as a title. Thus, you would write (on either side of the Atlantic):

What do you think of Robert Frost's "Design"? and

I love "Design"; however, my favorite poem was written by Emily Dickinson.

Further, punctuation around quoted speech or phrases depends on how it fits into the rest of

your text. If a quoted word or phrase fits into the flow of your sentence without a break or pause,

then a comma may not be necessary:

The phrase "lovely, dark and deep" begins to suggest ominous overtones.

Following a form ofto say, however, you'll almost always need a comma:

My father always said, "Be careful what you wish for."

If the quoted speech follows an independent clause yet could be part of the same sentence, use a

colon to set off the quoted language:

My mother's favorite quote was from Shakespeare: "This above all, to thine own

self be true."

When an attribution of speech comes in the middle of quoted language, set it apart as you would

any parenthetical element:

"I don't care," she said, "what you think about it."

Be careful, though, to begin a new sentence after the attribution if sense calls for it:

"I don't care," she said. "What do you think?"
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Convention normally insists that a new paragraph begins with each change of speaker:

"I don't care what you think anymore," she said, jauntily tossing back her hair

and looking askance at Edward.

"What do you mean?" he replied.

"What do you mean, 'What do I mean?'" Alberta sniffed. She was becomingimpatient and wished that she were elsewhere.

"You know darn well what I mean!" Edward huffed.

"Have it your way," Alberta added, "if that's how you feel."

In proofreading and editing your writing, remember that quotation marks always travel in

pairs! Well, almost always. When quoted dialogue carries from one paragraph to another (and to

another and another), the closing quotation mark does not appear until the quoted language

finally ends (although there is a beginning quotation mark at the start of each new quoted

paragraph to remind the reader that this is quoted language). Also, in parenthetical

documentation (see the Guide to Writing Research Papers), the period comes after theparenthetical citation which comes after the quotation mark" (Darling 553).

In reporting "silent speech"noting that language is "said," but internally and not spoken

out loudwriters are on their own. Writers can put quotation marks around it or not:

Oh, what a beautiful morning, Curly said to himself.

"Oh, what a beautiful morning!" Curly said to himself.

Some writers will set such unspoken language in italics or indent it in order to set it off from

other "regular" language. That's probably not a good idea if there is a lot of it because the indentscan be confusing and italics can become tiresome to read after a while. The decision will

probably depend on the amount of silent speech within the text. Probably the best way to handle

silent speech is to find an author whom you like who does a lot of thisGraham Swift in his

novelLast Orders, for instanceand copy that author's style. Consistency, of course, is very

important.

Some interesting things can happen withverb tenses when we report action inindirect or reported speech ("The president

said that he was going to Egypttomorrow"). For help with this issue, wewould refer to you Professor Mary NellSorensen's Web site at the University ofWashington.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/mla/index.shtmlhttp://faculty.washington.edu/marynell/grammar/reprtdsp.htmlhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/mla/index.shtml


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Be careful notto use quotation marks in an attempt to emphasize a word (the kind of thing

you see in grocery store windowsBig "Sale" Today!). Underline or italicize that word instead.

(The quotation marks will suggest to some people that you are using that word in a special

orpeculiarway and that you really mean something elseor that your sale is entirely bogus.)

The American Medical Association Manual of Style (9th ed, 1998) calls misused quotationmarks like this Apologetic Quotation Marks and says:

Quotation marks used around words to give special effect or to indicate irony are usuallyunnecessary. When irony or special effect is intended, skillful preparation can take the place ofusing these quotes. Resort to apologetic quotation marks or quotation marks used to expressirony only after such attempts have failed, keeping in mind that the best writing does not rely onapologetic quotation marks. (p 220)

Refer to Capital'sGuide for Writing Research Papers and, especially, the English

faculty's Suggestions for Writing Papers for Literature Courses for further help in handling

quotations.

We do not enclose indirect quotations in quotation marks. An indirect quotation reports

what someone says but not in the exact, original language. Indirect quotations are not heardin

the same way that quoted language is heard.

The President said that NAFTA would eventually be a boon to small businesses in

both countries.

Professor Villa told her students the textbooks were not yet in the bookstore.

Double Punctuation with QuotationsOccasionally very occasionally, we hope we come across a sentence that seems to

demand one kind of punctuation mark within quotation marks and another kind of punctuation

mark outside the quotation marks. A kind of pecking order of punctuation marks takes over:

other marks are stronger than a period and an exclamation mark is usually stronger than a

question mark. If a statement ends in a quoted question, allow the question mark within the

quotation marks suffice to end the sentence.

Malcolm X had the courage to ask the younger generation of American blacks,

"What did we do, who preceded you?"

On the other hand, if a question ends with a quoted statement that is not a question, the question

mark will go outside the closing quotation mark.

Who said, "Fame means when your computer modem is broken, the repair guy

comes out to your house a little faster"?
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If a question ends with a quotation containing an exclamation mark, the exclamation mark will

supersede the question and suffice to end the sentence.

Wasn't it Malcolm X who declared, "Why, that's the most hypocritical government

since the world began!"

A single question mark will suffice to end a quoted question within a question:

"Didn't he ask, 'What did we do, who preceded you?'" queried Johnson.

Authority for this section: New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage HarperCollins: New York. 1994.277. Cited with permission, examples our own.

Single Quotation Marks

In the United States, we use single quotation marks [

] to enclose quoted material (or

the titles of poems, stories, articles) within other quoted material:

"'Design' is my favorite poem," he said.

"Did she ask, 'What's going on?'"

Ralph Ellison recalls the Golden Age of Jazz this way: "It was itself a texture of

fragments, repetitive, nervous, not fully formed; its melodic lines underground,

secret and taunting; its riffs jeering'Salt peanuts! Salt peanuts!'"

British practice, again, is quite different. In fact, single-quote marks and double-quote

marks are apt to be reversed in usage. Instructors in the U.S. should probably take this intoaccount when reading papers submitted by students who have gone to school in other parts of the

globe.

In newspapers, single quotation marks are used in headlines where double quotation marks

would otherwise appear.

Congress Cries 'Shame!'

In some fields, key terms may be set apart with single-quote marks. In such cases, periods

and commas go outside the single-quote marks:

Sartre's treatment of 'being', as opposed to his treatment of 'non-being', has been

thoroughly described in Kaufmann's book.

When the term is case-sensitive, capitalization remains unchanged despite placement in the

sentence.


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english grammar - quotation marks

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