Do you have a firm understanding of the rules of using quotation marks?
Knowing what to put inside quotation marks and how to punctuate different instances of quotation mark usage in the context of your sentence may be an element of writing that feels basic, like a throwback to elementary school lessons, but it’s a common area for making mistakes even with the most experienced writers.
The Basics
Quotation marks are used to set apart dialogue, direct quotations, certain titles, and specific types of word use from the rest of prose.
Titles that are set apart by quotation marks include (but aren’t limited to):
- Magazine articles
- Blog posts
- Chapters
- Songs
- Episodes of TV shows
- Essay titles
- Lecture titles
- Short stories
(Remember, longer works such as book titles, TV show titles, movies, etc. are italicized.)
Let’s look at examples of different types of quotation mark usage:
Dialogue:
“There’s a dragonfly on my arm,” she said.
Direct quotation:
The book includes many references to Wilde’s most well-known quotes, including the popular: “The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.”
Title:
The first chapter of Harry Potter is “The Boy Who Lived.”
Quotation marks are also used to set apart words or phrases used in a way that deviates from standard usage like sarcasm, irony, or to insinuate skepticism:
His “friend” seems a little strange, don’t you think?
In US English, double quotation marks are used for all quoted material and single quotation marks are used for quotes within quotes.
“Have you heard the song ‘Mirrorball’ yet? It’s one of my favorites.”
When quoted material runs from one paragraph to another, do not use closing quotation marks at the end of the first paragraph, but add opening quotation marks at the start of the second paragraph:
“There was something familiar about him,” she said, “but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was something in the way he walked, his mannerisms. I felt like I’d met him before, but that was impossible.
“And then I realized who he reminded me of. My grandfather, who moved his hands the same way when he spoke and had the same way of tilting his head.”
Punctuation
When it comes to using correct punctuation within and around quotations, mistakes are made often. However, the rules are simple if you think of them as belonging in one of two categories: Always and Contextual.
Always
Periods and commas always go inside the quotation marks.
If a quote or dialogue comes at the end of a sentence, the period goes inside the quotation marks:
Lily glanced at the TV before saying, “Oh, shut it off. I can’t take any more bad news.”
When closing quotation marks before a dialogue tag, place a comma inside the quotation marks:
“There is a raccoon over there,” he said, pointing near the door.
Place a comma after the dialogue tag if you’re continuing the sentence. Do not capitalize the first word when you open the quotation marks again (unless otherwise necessary):
“I’d like a margarita,” she said, “and some chips and salsa.”
Contextual
The rules for all other punctuation marks—question marks, exclamation points, colons, semicolons—are based on the context of the sentence.
If the question belongs to the quotation, the question mark goes inside quotation marks:
“Are we going to the store now?” he asked.
If the question belongs to the overall sentence, not the quoted material, the question mark goes outside the quotation marks:
Where does it say “no food allowed inside”?
If both the overall sentence and the quotation are questions and the quoted material comes at the end of the sentence, the question mark goes inside the quotes:
When did he ask “do you want a bottle of water?”
If the exclamation point belongs to the quotation, it goes inside:
“I’m so excited!” she said.
If the exclamation point belongs to the overall sentence, it goes outside the quotation marks:
They just said “gates open in ten minutes”!
If a colon or semicolon belongs to the overall sentence, it goes outside the quotation marks:
I hope she sings “All Too Well”; it’s my favorite song.
If the colon or semicolon belongs to the quoted material, it goes inside the quotation marks. If the semicolon comes at the end of the quoted material, leave it off.
From Moby Dick:
“For an instant, the tranced boat’s crew stood still; then turned. ‘The ship? Great God, where is the ship?’ Soon they through dim, bewildering mediums saw her sidelong fading phantom, as in the gaseous Fata Morgana; only the uppermost masts out of water; while fixed by infatuation, or fidelity, or fate, to their once lofty perches, the pagan harpooneers still maintained their sinking lookouts on the sea.”
If I were only using a portion of this quote that ended on a semicolon, I would leave it out and, in this case, use a period:
“For an instant, the tranced boat’s crew stood still.”
Capitalization
Always capitalize the first word in a complete quotation, even mid sentence, if the quoted material ends the sentence:
The girl said, “There’s no chance we won’t get caught.”
Do not capitalize the first word in quoted material that is a portion of a complete quote and continues the overall sentence:
Carolyn told us the plan would “go off without a hitch” and to “just roll with it.”
Commas
When introducing or interrupting dialogue, use a comma:
Billy said, “I saw a yellow butterfly.”
“How,” Ivy whispered, “are we supposed to get there?”
The comma is optional before one-word quoted material:
Mom said “No.”
If the quoted material comes before the dialogue tag (he said, she whispered, etc), always end the quoted material with a comma, regardless of if it’s one word or not:
“No,” Mom said.
If the quoted material functions as the subject or object in a sentence, it might not require commas:
Is “all was well” the last line?
Em Dash Interruptions
If interrupting dialogue with action, use em dashes:
“Could you pass me”—he waved a hand at the tool box—“the thing with the different attachments.”
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