Quotation marks are punctuation marks that are primarily used to indicate direct speech and quotations. In academic writing, quotations are especially important when quoting material from other authors.
In this article, I will cover the various rules to follow when using quotation marks. I also discuss the differences between US and UK English. Read on to learn more.
How to format punctuation following quotes
Using other punctuation marks in relation to quotation marks can be tricky. However, you should remember one rule. Normally, a comma is included before introducing teh quoted material.
For question marks, if the question is being asked by the person being quoted, it should be included within the quotations.
Examples:
She said, "I'll meet you at 5 o'clock."
Was it you who said, "We'll discuss this tomorrow"?
He asked, “Where are Jack and Jane?”
Quotation marks: UK versus US English
There are differences in how quotation marks are used and formatted based on whether or not US or UK English is being used. Namely, in UK English, single quotation marks (‘’) are used, whereas for US English, double quotation marks (“”) are used.
In addition, in UK English, other punctuation marks are located outside the quotation marks, whereas in US English, quotation marks are included within the quotation marks. Check out the examples below for an illustration of each case.
Quotations with punctuation marks in US English: Examples
"Can you believe it?" she asked incredulously.
"The weather is perfect today," he remarked with a smile.
"I love this movie," she said, "because it always makes me cry."
Quotations with punctuation marks in UK English: Examples
‘Can you believe it?’ she asked incredulously.
‘The weather is perfect today’, he remarked with a smile.
‘I love this movie’, she said, ‘because it always makes me cry’.
How to format quotes within quotes
She said, "I overheard him say, 'I'll call you later.'"
"Do you remember when she asked, 'Is it really happening?'" he asked.
"The instructions read, 'Click "OK" to confirm your choice,' which I found odd," he remarked.
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Cite this EminentEdit article |
Antoine, M. (2024, December 01). Quotation Marks. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/quotation-marks |
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