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('' ") QUOTATION MARKS,
('' ") QUOTATION MARKS,
INVERTED COMMAS, SPEECH MARKS or QUOTES
INVERTED COMMAS, SPEECH MARKS or QUOTES
In English, quotation marks are used:
to quote someone’s exact words (a direct quotation),
when writing dialogue,
when punctuating the titles of magazines and parts of books,
when setting apart words that are unusual in standard English.
There are single (‘ ’) and double (“ ”) quotation marks.
Remember that in English — unlike in Polish — both the opening and the closing mark is placed in the top position.
It’s worth noting the difference between straight quotes (' ' and " ") and curly quotes (or smart quotes) (‘ ’ and “ ”), which are not so 'curly' using this website editor (!). You will often get straight quotes if you copy some text from the Internet. But straight quotes should not be used in any written documents – use only curly quotation marks!
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To find out how to turn straight quotes into curly quotes see Butterick.
SINGLE or DOUBLE QUOTATION MARKS?
SINGLE or DOUBLE QUOTATION MARKS?
There are single (' ') and double (" ") quotation marks. If you want to use quotation marks inside quotation marks, then use single inside double, or double inside single.
She said to him: "I thought 'Frantic' was a great film."
She said to him: 'I thought "Frantic" was a great film.'
To quote direct speech in American English, double quotation marks are used more frequently. In British English, quotation marks are called inverted commas, and the single ones are used more frequently than the double ones for direct speech.
DIRECT QUOTATIONS and DIALOGUES
DIRECT QUOTATIONS and DIALOGUES
When we want to tell the reader what someone has said we can either report the speaker’s words (reported speech), or the words can be quoted directly in what’s called direct speech. To quote the exact words somebody has said, we need to use quotation marks. Every time a new speaker says something, we should start a new paragraph:
'I don't think they are coming,' said Paul.
'Let's wait a few more minutes,' replied Sandra.
'Xxxx xxx xxxx xxx,' he said.
'Xxxx xxx xxxx xxx,' he said.
DIRECT QUOTE THE TAG
DIRECT QUOTE THE TAG
Look at the punctuation of the tag depending on its placement in the sentence:
Christine asked me, 'If you were me, would you tell him the truth?'
'If he were me,' said Frank, 'he'd never tell the truth.'
'If I were you, I'd never tell him the truth,' said Mark.
Tag at the beginning – the tag is followed by a comma, and the first word in the quotation marks is capitalized.
Tag in the middle of a sentence – a comma follows the last word in the first part of the quote and is placed before the closing quotation marks; the tag is followed by a comma, and the second part of the quote is not capitalized.
Tag at the end – the quotation is a sentence that would normally be punctuated with a full stop; instead, a comma followed by closing quotation marks is used; a full stop is used after the tag.
'How did he manage to do that?' wondered Philip.
'Be quiet!' shouted Sarah.
Tag at the end with a question or exclamation mark – the question or the exclamation mark appears inside the quotation marks, but the tag is not capitalized.
!!! NOTE !!!
If the quote itself is not a question or an exclamation, but is included in a sentence that is a question or exclamation, the punctuation is placed after the quotation marks.
Example:
Do you know who said, 'It's a small step for a man but a leap for mankind'?
In the above example the tag is a question and the quotation is part of that question. But the quotation itself is not a question, so the question mark follows the quotation mark.
Remember: only one comma or end mark can be used at the end of a quotation.
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For more examples see:
Smith, B. 2003. pp. 147–151.
For more differences in quoting in British and American English see:
QUOTATION MARKS and other PUNCTUATION MARKS
QUOTATION MARKS and other PUNCTUATION MARKS
The general rule for British English is:
If the quoted words end with a full stop, then the full stop goes inside the quotation marks. If the quoted words do not end with a full stop, then the full stop goes outside the quotation marks, like in these examples:
He said, 'I love you.'
They have both read 'Kane and Abel'.
In American English, the full stop usually goes inside the quotation marks in all cases:
He said: "I love you."
They have both read "Kane and Abel."
However, American English adopts the British style for question and exclamation marks:
He asked: "Do you love me too?"
Have you read "Kane and Abel"?
You'll never guess which book got the first price. "Kane and Abel"!
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For more differences in quoting in British and American English see:
See the student presenation below
QUOTATION MARKS in POLISH
QUOTATION MARKS in POLISH
The main differences between quotation marks in English and in Polish:
in Polish the opening quotation mark is placed at the bottom of the line, while the closing one is places at the top: „ ”;
in Polish double inverted commas are used to quote direct speech; single quotation marks are rarely used;
if the quote is placed at the end of a sentence, the full stop comes after the closing quotation mark; if the sentence ends in a question mark, place it within the quote if it belongs to the quote and after the closing inverted comma if it refers to the whole sentence.
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For more information on quotation mark in Polish see:
Mitchell 2012, pp. 246–247
Profesor Jan Miodek – Po co ten cudzysłów?
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