Another source of frequent pain and doubt is the use of quotation marks and, even more so, the use of other punctuation marks along with quotations. We generally make use of quotation marks in the following cases:
- around direct quotations
Usually, this quotation is introduced with a reporting phrase. However, special attention is required as regards punctuation with quotation marks. So, here are a few (simple) rules to follow:
- separate the quoted sentence from the reporting phrase with a comma.
e.g. His father wondered, “What is taking him so long?”
“I have never seen such a luxurious house,” Mary thought to herself.
- Full stops and commas go inside the second quotation mark of a pair.
e.g. Ms. Jones said emphatically, “You are not to leave the classroom before an hour goes by.”
“Although I love youρ suit,” his mother-in-law said, “I find your choice of shirt inappropriate.”
- Colons and semicolons go outside quotation marks.
e.g. “One man’s meat is another man’s poison”: this is one of his favourite sayings.
- Exclamation marks and question marks go inside quotation marks only if they are part of the quotation; in all other cases, they go outside.
e.g. “Have you done your homework?” Mum wanted to know.
“I can’t believe he told me such a lie!” Peter exclaimed.
but
How would you react if he told you “You are fired”?
- Always begin a quoted sentence with a capital letter even if it is not at the beginning of the whole sentence.
e.g. The director suggested, “Let’s meet again next week.”
However, if the quoted sentence is divided into two parts, the second part has to begin with a lower-case letter unless it is a new sentence.
e.g. “Don’t you ever talk to me like that,” she shouted at the top of her voice, “whenever I ask for a clarification!”.
but
“I don’t know what else to do,” he said. “There is nothing else left.”
- If you have to use a quotation within a quotation, then use single quotation marks.
e.g. I particularly like the sentence he uses to end all his speeches, “And as my great-grandmother used to say, ‘If you think you can’t do it, just try double as much.’” à It may seem awkward, but this is how it should be; a single quotation followed by a double one.
- around unusual words
It is common practice to put quotation marks around words we feel have an unusual meaning, or words we want to give an ironic meaning to.
e.g. He always boasts about his book, but I would hardly call 15 pages of self-reflection a “book” on teaching practice.
- around titles of short works
By short works, we refer to:
- articles published in periodical journals, magazines, and newspapers;
- chapters from books;
- short stories;
- poems, and
- songs.
e.g. Whenever I listen to “Imagine” by John Lennon, I can’t help but feel emotional.
Be careful -1: the direct quotation should be no longer than 3 lines. If it is, then it has to stand as a separate indented blocked paragraph.
Be careful -2: by “direct quotation”, we refer to the exact words of a speaker or text – not a paraphrase or summary of their words!
References
Oshima, A. and Hogue, A. (2014) Longman Academic Writing Series 4 (5th ed). Pearson
