using quotation marks in creative writing

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• In the UK, it’s more common to use single quote marks . And if there’s a quote within the quote, that’s a double. You might hear quotes within quotes called nested quotes .
• In US English it’s conventional to use double quote marks  with nested singles. 

• Go to FILE and select OPTIONS
• Select PROOFING, then click on the AUTOCORRECT OPTIONS button
• Choose the AUTOFORMAT AS YOU TYPE tab
• Make sure there’s a tick in the "STRAIGHT QUOTES" WITH “SMART QUOTES” box
• Click on OK
• Select CTRL+H on your keyboard to open FIND AND REPLACE
• Type a quotation mark into the FIND WHAT box
• Type the same quotation mark into the REPLACE WITH box
• Click on the REPLACE ALL button
• "Don't move a muscle," Stephen said.
• "My God! Is that Jonathan? He looks fabulous."
• “Maybe you don't think we've met but I can assure—”
• Dave glanced at the signature tattoo on the Matt’s hand.  ‘That looks familiar. Who inked you?’
• ‘Never.’  I sized up the door and the window.  ‘I love you ...'
• US English convention: Peter's "friends," the ones who hadn't bothered to find out if he was okay after his wife ditched him, seemed oddly keen to get in touch now that he'd won the lottery.
• UK English convention: Peter's 'friends', the ones who hadn't bothered to find out if he was okay after his wife ditched him, seemed oddly keen to get in touch now that he'd won the lottery.
• US English convention: "Favourite Jimi Hendrix songs? 'Foxy Lady,' 'Hey Joe,' and 'Purple Haze.'"
• UK English convention: ' Favourite Jimi Hendrix  songs? "Foxy Lady", "Hey Joe", and 'Purple Haze".'
• Thoughts 
• Get in touch:   Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader
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Good one, Louise. Perfect for geek grammar wannabes like me.

Cheers, Rich! I've covered some of the peskier punctuation - quote marks, dashes, semi-colons and apostrophes - but there's more to come!

I'd saved this post from earlier and have just checked in. You have a wonderful way of explaining clearly, with good examples. Not only did you note a problem I see often (U.S. writers thinking that "distanced" words should be in single quotes), but you also told me something I didn't know, and I'm a grammar geek: that U.K. editing places quote marks inside the punctuation in nested quotes. I'd seen that practice but hadn't made the leap to generalizing to the rule. I'm reblogging from Chris Graham's site to my blog, justcanthelpwriting.com. Wish you had a reblog button! Thanks.

Hi, Virginia! Thanks so much. Sorry about the reblog button. There's no such functionality with Weebly. I've seen people in the community asking for one but nothing's happened yet!

Hi Louise! This has been so useful, thank you. I do have a little query, if you don't mind? Regarding the following: "So, if you want your dialogue to take a new paragraph while retaining the current speaker, use a quotation mark at start of the new line but omit the closing one at the end of the previous paragraph." Would this be the same for children's picture books? E.g. A character is speaking then the speech ends in ellipses as often happens in picture books, but the speech continues on the next page. Would I still omit the speech marks on the first page and use a quotation mark on the new page or should I use closing ones too? End of page two: "Blah," said the monkey, "blah blah blah ..." Start of new page/spread: "... blah!" I really hope I've made a little bit of sense! Thank you

I think it could be confusing given that there's a page break. I'd take a look at how mainstream published children's picture books are handling it and mimic that style. Eg I've just looked at Tabby McTat - it doesn't follow my guidance for commercial fiction but rather closes off each spoken block with quote marks. I think that makes sense to handle it differently.

Thank you so much for getting back to me so quickly, Louise. I have had a mooch at a few picture books and they all seem to have different styles. I have proofread quite a few picture books now and I still have to research everything because the rule books fly out of the window with them! (Which adds to the fun, of course) :-) I think I will point it out to the author and publisher but suggest that they check with the editor if there is a preferred style. Thanks again for coming back to me on this.

Hi! Thank you very much for this! It has helped me a lot. I have a question. What should the writer do, if the quotation (dialogue) ends with a punctuation mark like ? ! or ... and then another punctuation mark (here a comma) is needed? Should it be like this: ?', !', and ...', ? How do you deal with three punctuation marks in a row?

I'd need to see a specific example, Martyna, but question marks and exclamation marks in dialogue usually replace the need for a comma, thus: "How do I punctuate this sentence?" asked. Nested quotes might mean you need three punctuation marks: "How do I a cite a sentence from 'Editing Fiction at Sentence Level'?" Martyna asked, referencing Louise's fiction editing book.

Thank you for repyling! The situation I have difficulty with is one where there is not a simple dialogue, but there are one person's utterances that illustrate a type of their behaviour. In order not to repeatedly include descriptions of situations of one type, after a few such descriptions there is a summary that this was often the case and in such situations he would say: [here follow his utterances enumerated, so, for example, 20 typical utterances he said in this type of situation]. So, on the one hand, these are the utterances of this person, and on the other hand, they appear in the text as a list rather than dialogue. In such a case, in addition to the punctuation marks that are necessary with dialogue, do you add commas separating these utterances? E.g. ‘You don’t need me, you have another one.’ ‘I see you don’t love me.’ ‘Tell me the truth, you’re with another man now?’ ‘You’re not at home?’ ‘Where is the woman you used to be?’ ‘It’s a shame.’ ‘I thought we’d get married and live together, I’d take care of you, and we’d have a son, but, well, that’s the way it is.’ ‘You have another man?’ ‘Right, I understand.’ ‘I’m a naive and stupid man.’ ‘I wish you all the best.’...

Here's a blog post that addresses your second question, Martyna: https://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/blog/how-to-use-dialogue-snippets-as-a-narrative-tool Hope that helps.

Thank you very much! That did help a lot!

What a helpful article!!! I’m so grateful for the insights. I have an issue that often comes up in a story I’m writing: ellipses inside a dialogue quote to indicate that the speaker has just sort of let the thought hang. (The two main characters are teenagers, so they have a tendency to not really finish their sentences when speaking to each other. 😂) When faced with that in the course of a longer sentence, do I include punctuation outside those closing quotation marks (for the sentence as a whole)? For example, I currently have: As they reached the outer door, she paused to put on her coat, and without a second thought, he said, “Here, let me…”. He reached for the garment and she let him assume its weight, holding it out for her. Is the period outside the closing quotation mark supposed to be there because his speech is part of a longer sentence, or do I just let it go with: As they reached the outer door, she paused to put on her coat, and without a second thought, he said, “Here, let me…” He reached for the garment and she let him assume its weight, holding it out for her. (And the ellipse here is to indicate that he’s moving sort of hesitantly in the action of helping her with her coat, not knowing if she’ll appreciate it or be irritated. I didn’t want to go with just a period that would make it seem like more of a command — this girl would DEFINITELY bristle at that.) Thank you for your thoughts!

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How to Use Quotation Marks: Rules and Examples

• Quotation marks are a type of punctuation that sets words and passages apart from the rest of the text.
• Use quotation marks to quote a source directly, show dialogue, signal the titles of short works, doubt the validity of a word, discuss a word without its intended meaning, or differentiate a nickname.
• Several other essential rules exist for correctly using quotation marks, including when to use single versus double quotation marks.

Quotation marks have many essential functions in grammar. However, knowing the rules behind them can get confusing when striving for clear and correct writing . Here, we explain the must-know guidelines for proper quotation mark usage, including examples for each.

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Table of contents

What are quotation marks, when to use quotation marks, when to use single quotation marks, other rules for quotation marks, quotation marks faqs.

Quotation marks are a type of punctuation with several different functions. They indicate a quotation or direct speech and set words and passages apart from the rest of the text. They signal the use of someone else’s words to help distinguish between the source’s voice and the quoted material.

“How do we use quotation marks?” the student asked their teacher.

Quotation marks are also used to indicate the titles of creative works and highlight specific terms or phrases, often emphasizing tone.

Use quotation marks to draw attention to words or language in your writing. It helps to break down the rules for when to use quotation marks by their function. Below, we list the seven main uses for quotation marks.

1  To quote a source directly or indirectly

Direct quotes use the exact words from a source and require quotation marks. Indirect quotes restate or paraphrase those words or ideas and don’t require quotation marks.

Use quotation marks to indicate a direct quote or passage copied verbatim from another source. If you’re using the same word, sentence, or phrase as another author, put those words between quotation marks. This is most common in nonfiction writing when a writer uses a phrase or sentence from a preexisting source, usually to support their thesis.

Stephen Hawking warned that the Higgs boson could potentially lead to “catastrophic vacuum decay” in the universe, caused by “a bubble of the true vacuum expanding at the speed of light.”

Indirect quotes

An indirect quote lets you capture or summarize what someone said or wrote without using their exact words. It helps to convey the tone or meaning of your source without quoting them directly.

Stephen Hawking warned of the Higgs boson’s potentially disastrous effect on the universe.

2  To show dialogue or transcribe speech

Use quotation marks to represent speech in written text. In nonfiction, they’re commonly used to transcribe a person’s statement, as with an interview or eyewitness account. In fiction, they’re used for writing dialogue or whenever a character says something out loud.

“Where is the emergency room?” he asked the nurse urgently.

3   To signal the titles of creative works

Aside from quotes and speech, English also uses quotation marks for the titles of creative works. Certain types of works—but not all—use quotation marks around their titles so the reader knows the work is a reference.

Written by Sylvia Plath, “Tulips” is a sad poem with a happy title.

AP (Associated Press) style and the Chicago style offer different guidelines for quotation marks for titles. AP style uses quotation marks for titles of creative works like books, movies, songs, TV shows, and other compositions. Chicago style uses quotation marks for titles of shorter works, such as poems, articles, and chapters, but uses italics for books and periodical titles.

4  To set apart a word to show irony, sarcasm, or skepticism (scare quotes)

Scare quotes are used to show that the writer doubts the validity of a word. They commonly show irony, sarcasm, or how something is “popularly termed.” They can have the same meaning as the phrase so-called , including suspicious insinuation.

Scare quotes generally appear as quotation marks around a single word or sometimes a phrase. They also require the proper context so the reader understands why the writer doubts or is qualifying the word’s usage. Scare quotes in writing are the origin of the air quotes gesture in in-person speech.

My “pet” is really just a stray cat that comes by once a day.

5  To discuss words

If you want to discuss a word, phrase, or letter in writing without using its intended meaning, set it apart with quotation marks. Depending on the styling format, some writers alternatively use italics without quotation marks.

The “p” in “pterodactyl” is actually silent.

6   To differentiate a nickname from a given name

If you write a person’s nickname alongside their given name, set it apart with quotation marks so the reader knows it’s not part of their formal name. The standard is to place the quoted nickname between the first name and the surname, although that’s not necessarily a rule.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson can’t escape his origins as a wrestler.

No quotes are necessary if the nickname is how a famous person is most commonly recognized, as with many historical figures.

Many historians believe that Richard the Lionheart was gay, but that evidence has been removed from historical records.

7   To indicate inches for height

Using quotation marks to indicate height is informal yet widely accepted. The quotation mark is typically used to denote inches, and the apostrophe denotes feet. To indicate the measurement correctly, place the marks directly after the number with no space.

For someone who is five feet six inches tall: 5’6”

One of the most common points of confusion with quotes is when to use single versus double quotation marks . In American English, single quotation marks are used only for quotes that appear inside other quotes. For example, if you’re quoting a passage that already features a quote, use double quotation marks for the main quote and single quotation marks for the quote within a quote.

“My last boss used to always say, ‘You sell more before lunch than the others sell in a week,’ ” Amira mentioned in her job interview.

However, this applies only to American English. British English reverses the rules: Single quotes are used primarily for quotes, dialogue, titles, etc., and double quotes are used only within other quotes.

There are a few other important rules to remember for using quotation marks correctly:

1  Use quotation marks in pairs

Quotation marks come in pairs, with an opening quotation mark at the beginning and a closing one at the end of the quote. This signals the beginning and end of direct speech or quoted material and helps differentiate it from the surrounding text.

“The situation is under control,” the manager announced.

2   Place punctuation marks inside quotation marks

In American English, punctuation marks are typically placed inside quotation marks, with some exceptions. In British English, punctuation marks are placed outside the quotation marks unless they are part of the original quotation. The following rules and examples focus on American English.

Using commas with quotation marks

Place a comma inside the quotation marks at the end of a quoted phrase.

“Take off your dirty shoes before coming into the house,” my father said.

Because you want to attach the speaker to their dialogue, use a comma rather than a period to end the quote inside the quotation marks.

“Take off your dirty shoes before coming into the house.” my father said.

Breaking up a quote with commas

If you’re breaking up a quotation, place a comma after the first part of the quote (inside quotation marks), followed by a comma and space before the second part (outside the quotation marks). Place both parts of the quote within their own set of quotation marks.

“My goodness,” said my father, “take off your dirty shoes before coming into the house.”

Here, commas distinguish the spoken words from the rest of the sentence. The commas separate the direct speech of the father (“My goodness,” at the beginning, and “take off your dirty shoes before coming into the house” at the end) from the reporting clause (“said my father”).

You can skip the comma before or after the quote for short quotes or phrases within a sentence if they flow naturally.

My father said my shoes were “too dirty” to wear into the house.

Using periods with quotation marks

Place the period inside the quotation marks when a quotation comes at the end of a sentence. The quotation can be introduced with a transitional phrase followed by a comma, helping separate the spoken words from the rest of the sentence.

Before I entered the house, my father said, “Take off your dirty shoes.”

Using a period elsewhere inside quotation marks is correct if your quoted material includes multiple sentences. Place a comma inside the quotation mark if using a reporting clause after the quote.

“I just mopped the floors. Take off your dirty shoes before coming into the house,” said my father.

Using colons with quotation marks

Colons are typically placed outside quotation marks unless they are part of the quoted material.

When I was growing up, my father must have said this a thousand times: “Take off your dirty shoes before coming into the house.”

When a colon is part of the quoted material, place it inside the quotation marks to indicate that what follows it elaborates on or continues the thought introduced before the colon.

“Here’s what I want you to do: Take off your dirty shoes before coming into the house, try your best to keep the entryway clean, and use the mop when you make a mess,” my father said.

Using semicolons with quotation marks

As with a colon, place a semicolon outside quotation marks regardless of whether it’s before or after a quotation.

My father said, “Take off your dirty shoes before you come into the house”; they weren’t even dirty to begin with.

Use a semicolon inside quotation marks when it’s part of the quoted material.

“Take off your filthy shoes before coming into the house; helping keep the house clean is up to all of us,” said my father.

3 Do question marks and exclamation marks go inside quotes?

If the question mark or exclamation mark is part of the quote, place it inside the quotation marks.

She asked, “Will this be on the test?”

“We won!” shouted the coach to no one in particular.

If the question mark or exclamation mark is not part of the quote but part of a question or statement, place it outside the quotation marks.

Did they just say “free pizza”?

They just said “free pizza”!

4 Capitalize the first letter of the quoted sentence

If you’re quoting a complete sentence, capitalize the first letter of the first word, just like a typical sentence. But suppose you place the quotation mid-sentence, forming a syntactical part of the sentence. In that case, it begins with a lowercase letter, even if the original sentence begins with a capitalized letter.

The letter opened with, “We regret to inform you your application has been denied.”

Anne Frank reminded us that “whoever is happy will make others happy too.”

However, no capitalization is necessary if you’re not quoting a complete sentence. This includes individual words, phrases, or separate clauses.

The manager said that the situation was “under control.”

5   Include an opening quotation mark at the beginning of each new quoted paragraph

Some quoted passages are longer than others. If you’re quoting two or more paragraphs, place opening quotation marks at the beginning of each new paragraph. But make sure to place closing quotation marks only at the end of the entire passage, not at the end of each paragraph.

Here’s what the email said:

“It’s been a long time. I hope you’re well.

“I’m writing because I’m coming to Atlanta for work, and I was wondering if you’d like to meet up.”

6 Use [sic] for misspellings or grammar errors in a quotation

Use [sic] within quotations to indicate that any spelling, punctuation, grammatical errors, or unusual phrases are part of the original quoted material. This shows that it is not a mistake in the transcription and distances you from errors in the content.

In his letter, he declared, “Every man, regardless of they’re [sic] station, should have the right to vote.”

What is the function of quotation marks?

Quotation marks primarily set apart certain words, usually to indicate direct quotes and to signify the titles of certain works or that a phrase does not use a word’s intended meaning.

When are quotation marks used?

Use quotation marks to indicate a direct quote, transcribe speech to text, signify titles of small works like poems, show that the validity of a word is in doubt, discuss words as words without referencing their intended meaning, and set apart nicknames from formal names.

What’s the difference between quotation marks and italics for titles?

Both quotation marks and italics are used for the titles of works, but certain types of works use only quotes, and others use only italics. In general, short-form works like poems, songs, or short stories use quotation marks, while long-form works like books, films, or stage plays use italics.

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• July 21, 2015

Proper Use of Quotation Marks in Fiction Writing

• By JoEllen Nordstrom

In the world of punctuation, there are many rules and usages. A period likes to stop, a comma can pause, and an exclamation mark can scream. So what is the purpose of quotation marks? They can give your writing a voice.

We all learned in grade school how to use quotation marks, but after so many years of editing, I’m still shocked to see that writers either use them incorrectly or inconsistently avoid them. There are writers who omit quotation marks as a stylistic choice, like Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri uses in The Lowland, but as with any “rules” in writing, you must first know the rules before you can break them.

Simply put, quotation marks are used to set off material that is quoted. And, you can quote me on this, I think it’s safe to say that there isn’t a fiction book of any genre that doesn’t have dialogue. Characters need to speak, right?

Quotation marks are those double apostrophes that swing both ways—left and right (“ = opening; ” = closing). They always travel in pairs and are placed at the beginning and the end of dialogue.

So, let’s review some examples of how to use quotation marks in fiction work.

John and David ran into the woods. The sky darkened as the sun dipped below the horizon. The cool wind bit at their cheeks. A branch snapped in the distance.

“Did you hear that?” John said.

“Yes,” David replied. His heart pounded in fear.

The boys quietly followed the path down toward the river. They had heard of a ghost haunting these woods, but they never believed it. Just a tall tale rumored at school. There was no way Henry, the Ghost of Highwater, really existed.

In this example, John and David’s dialogue is spoken; therefore, quotation marks are needed. As you can see from the example, the “opening” quotation mark (“) is placed at the beginning of the dialogue, and the “closing” quotation mark (”) is placed at the end of the dialogue. Keep in mind that American English places punctuation (periods, commas, etc.) inside quotation marks, while UK English places punctuation outside the quotation marks.

While most writers know to use quotation marks for dialogue, confusion arises on how to use quotation marks when dialogue continues onto the next paragraph, and the next paragraph, and the next . . .

When a character has long chunks of dialogue, it will be difficult to read if there are no paragraph breaks (readers will feel disjointed if there’s a five-page paragraph). When quoted dialogue carries from one paragraph to the next, the closing quotation mark doesn’t appear until the dialogue has ended, and each paragraph will begin with an open quotation mark.

For example:

Bethany stood in front of the podium and looked out at the audience. “Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. My fellow colleagues and I have been very successful in our research, and we want to present our findings in detail at this seminar.

“As you may know, there are countless homeless teens in our city, and we haven’t done everything we can as a community, as a city, or as a society to tackle this problem. Last year, there were over one hundred homeless teens living on the streets in our community, and more than half of those teens have been arrested.

“We need to do better. Our schools need to do better. Our parents need to do better. Our leaders need to do better. We, as a community, need to come together to ensure that our children are nurtured, cared for, and loved. It is my goal to make this happen.”

In this example, Bethany’s dialogue continues for more than one paragraph. Open quotation marks are used at the beginning of each paragraph to indicate to the reader that the character is still speaking. The closing quotation mark is only used at the end of the spoken dialogue.

Things get a little tricky when quoted material is used within quoted material. How can you quote something that’s being quoted? This is where single quotation marks (‘ ’) come in. In American English, single quotation marks are used within double quotation marks to indicate a quote within a quote.

Amy threw her lipstick across the room. “I can’t believe Jackie said that,” she scoffed.

Melissa raised her eyebrows. “What did she say?”

Amy rolled her eyes. “She said, ‘You can’t wear that dress to prom, because I’m wearing that dress to prom.’ Can you believe she said that?”

As shown, Amy is not happy with Jackie for telling her she can’t wear the dress to the prom. Single quotation marks are used to quote Jackie’s dialogue within Amy’s dialogue.

Quotation marks are also used to quote journal articles, magazine articles, short stories, and song titles, but italics are used for titles of books, newspapers, magazines, journals, album titles, etc.

The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” is on Abbey Road.

“The Things They Carried” is Tim O’Brien’s most famous short story from his collection, The Things They Carried.

The New York Times just published the article “The Small, Happy Life” by David Brooks.

Now that we’ve gone through a few examples, take a look at your own writing to see if you are using quotation marks correctly.

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How to Use Quotation Marks: Rules and Examples

by Kaelyn Barron | 10 comments

Whether you want to liven up your book’s scenes with dialogue or simply give credit where it’s due in your research paper, you’ll need to use quotation marks to attribute words to a speaker.

There are some specific rules you’ll need to follow, however, especially once you throw in other punctuations or mix quotes within quotes.

When to Use Quotation Marks

Quotation marks should be used to directly quote the words of someone else, with titles of short works, and when indicating certain words as words.

Direct Quotes

Use quotation marks when you want to use the exact words of someone else in your writing.

For example:

“It’s getting late,” John said. “Maybe we should go home.”

Note that you could also relay what John said without a direct quotation:

John said it’s getting late and maybe we should go home.

Quotes like the example above are usually best suited for creative writing.

If you were sending a text to a friend, for instance, you would probably use the second method and simply relay what John said.

In fiction, however, quotations are used to create dialogue, and dialogue is an excellent way to let your characters speak for themselves and move the plot along more naturally.

In nonfiction, quotes are usually included to present information from other sources. However, if information is simply being paraphrased, quotation marks are not needed.

Run-in and Block Quotations

Run-in quotations are shorter quotes (like the examples above) that take the same format as the regular text that surrounds it.

Block quotes, on the other hand, are longer quotes that are separated from their surrounding text. Although they are direct quotes, direct quotes do not need quotation marks because they are usually separated from the text (in a new paragraph with indented margins, a different font style, or by some other distinction).

Refer to your designated style guide for specific rules regarding how long a quote should be before it becomes a block quote (although five or more lines is generally a good rule).

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches often utilized parallel structure to emphasize key points. One example can be found in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

Titles of Short Works

Most style guides dictate that titles of books, films, magazines, newspapers, and other large works be italicized.

Titles of shorter works, such as poems, chapter titles, and short stories, are placed in quotation marks.

“Mad Girl’s Love Song” is a poem by Sylvia Plath.

He’s currently on Chapter 2, “How to Teach Your Dog to Roll Over.”

“A Sound of Thunder” is a short story by Ray Bradbury.

Words as Words

In some cases, such as when you’re defining a word, you need to indicate which word you’re referring to. Use quotation marks to make this clear.

“SEO” is short for search engine optimization.

The word “tranquil” is synonymous with “calm.”

Quotation Mark Rules

There are several key grammatical rules to keep in mind when using quotation marks in your writing.

Quotations and Capitalization

If you’re quoting a complete sentence, the quotation should start with a capital letter (even if your sentence doesn’t begin with the quote).

Mark explained, “There aren’t enough rooms available for everyone at the house.”

If you are only quoting a particular phrase or selection of words—not a complete sentence—then your quotation should not start with capital letters.

Mark explained that there “weren’t enough rooms” at the house.

If you are splitting a complete sentence in half to insert a parenthetical, then the second half of the quote should not be capitalized.

“The problem,” Mark explained, “is that there aren’t enough rooms for everyone.”

Quotations and Other Punctuations

When quotations contain complete sentences, there is often confusion about where the quotation marks should be placed.

Commas and periods should always go inside quotation marks. Other ending punctuations, like question marks, are placed inside the quotation marks when they apply to the quoted material.

“Is it really necessary?” Sandy asked.

In the example above, Sandy is asking a question, so the question mark is placed inside the quotation marks.

Did Tommy tell you that these things are “really necessary”?

Here, an unnamed writer is asking if Tommy used the precise words “really necessary”; she is asking a question, but she is only quoting two words.

Tina loved everything about the “Eternal City”: its monuments, its river, and especially its food.

The “Eternal City” is in quotation marks because it is a name commonly used to describe Rome. The colon is placed outside, because it is not part of the name.

Quotes Within Quotes

If you want to quote something that already contains a quote, do not use double quotation marks.

“”The Road Not Taken” is my favorite poem,” Michelle said.

Instead, use single quotation marks (‘ ‘) for quotes within quotes.

“‘The Road Not Taken’ is my favorite poem,” Michelle said.

British vs. American Use

If you’re writing for a British audience, note that the British style calls for only single quotation marks (‘ ‘), except when there is a quote within a quote, in which case the double quotation marks are employed.

‘I love your dress, where did you get it?’ she asked the girl.

Additionally, the British also leave punctuation marks that are not part of the quote, such as commas, outside of the quotation marks.

‘It’s such a lovely day’, said Mary, ‘we should go for a walk.’

Check Your Style Guide

Rules for proper use of quotation marks may vary between Chicago , AP , MLA , and other style guides.

When in doubt, always refer to your style guide for the most up to date, accurate information for your specific kind of writing.

How to Use Quotation Marks

Quotes can liven up your fiction with dialogue or help you ace your next research paper with the expert words of others.

Make sure you know how to properly include quotation marks to make your writing more precise and effective.

Do you have any tricks for remembering how to use quotation marks? Share them in the comments below!

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:

• Titles: Italics or Quotation Marks? Tips for Writing Titles of Works
• 10 Grammar Software Tools and Punctuation Checkers
• 10 Great Proofreading Tools and Software Programs
• He Said, She Said: Grammar Options in Dialogue

As a blog writer for TCK Publishing, Kaelyn loves crafting fun and helpful content for writers, readers, and creative minds alike. She has a degree in International Affairs with a minor in Italian Studies, but her true passion has always been writing. Working remotely allows her to do even more of the things she loves, like traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.

10 Comments

Hi Kaelyn I’m writing a biographical book about my great grandparents and I’m wondering how to show when they receive a letter from home. Does the written text of the letter need to be separated by single quotes? Just wondering what the rule was for that situation. Thank you so much.

Hi Deedy, thanks for your question! For a letter, the best thing to do is indent the entire text of the letter so it’s clear it’s separate. You can italicize it or not (I’ve seen both, but no quotes necessary :)

As a novelist, I use characters that talk a lot for a long time. When I move on to a different thought from the character in the next paragraph, do I have to use open quotes? Or do I just continue writing without the open (“) quote?

Hi Lloyd! Thanks for the question. Personally, I think it’s best if you still use the open quote. It’s a visual indication that your character is still talking, so it confuses the reader less.

I do also suggest breaking up the dialogue with some exposition. From my experience, long dialogues/monologues often disrupt the scene, making it hard to remember what else is happening aside from the characters talking.

How should I write what a sign reads/says? Should it be in quotations? All caps? Both? (ex. The sign reads: “PROCESSING.”) Thanks in advance for all you do!

Rick (Author of The Fifth Plane and the upcoming novel The Last Sand Granules)

Hi Rick, thanks for your comment! It doesn’t matter so much which style you choose so long as you’re consistent. In general, though, I wouldn’t put it in a ll caps unless you want to emphasize that the actual sign was in all caps. If you’re using a colon, you might even drop the quotation marks, but keep them if you use a comma.

Hello Kaelyn, if you would please, let me know how can I emphasize the quotation when reading a text? Shall I say: start quote “riding upon the air” end quote, is an Oriental phrase…

Hi Marcus, thanks for your question! You have a few options. I wouldn’t recommend using quote/end quote. You could simply write the quotation in quotation marks, like this: “Riding upon the air” is an Oriental phrase. OR, you could say: The phrase “riding upon the air” is Oriental in origin.

In writing a story I was told that I need to keep it separate like this. Mike asked, “Are you going to eat that?” “No.” answered John.

Hi Kathryne, yes, the two speakers should appear on different lines. However, if you want to attribute “No” that way, it should have a comma and not a period.

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Extended Rules for Using Quotation Marks

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Altering the Source Material in a Quotation

The responsibility of representing other people's words accurately lies firmly on the shoulders of the author. Inaccurate quotes not only defeat the purpose of using a quote, they may also constitute plagiarism. However, there are approved methods for altering quotes for either clarity or succinctness.

Quote length

If the original quote is too long and you feel not all the words are necessary in your own paper, you may omit part of the quote. Replace the missing words with an ellipsis.

Make sure that the words you remove do not alter the basic meaning of the original quote in any way. Also ensure that the quote's integration and missing material still leave a grammatically correct sentence.

Quote context

If the context of your quote might be unclear, you may add a few words to provide clarity. Enclose the added material in brackets.

Quotations within a Quotation

Use single quotation marks to enclose quotes within another quotation.

Quotation Marks Beyond Quoting

Quotation marks may additionally be used to indicate words used ironically or with some reservation.

Do not use quotation marks for words used as words themselves. In this case, you should use italics.

Punctuation Marks: Quotation Marks (in Fiction Writing)

by Melissa Donovan | Jun 8, 2023 | Punctuation Marks | 62 comments

How to use quotation marks.

The placement of quotation marks perplexes a lot of people. Do they go inside or outside of other punctuation marks, like periods and commas? Should they be used to set off titles or to emphasize certain words? Are they used for both spoken dialogue and thought dialogue? What about text messages or notes in a novel — should they be placed in quotes or italics?

Today we’re going to look at quotation marks with a focus on how they should be used within the realm of fiction writing.

Quotation Marks and Dialogue

She said, “I’m writing a book.”

“I’m working on it,” she whispered, “but it’s going to take a while.”

Then she asked, “Are you going to write one too?”

When using quotation marks to portray dialogue, the quotes go outside of the dialogue’s closing punctuation marks, which are usually commas or periods but can also be exclamation points or question marks.

A dialogue tag ( he said, she said ) should end with a comma when it precedes the dialogue:

She said, “My book is almost done.”

The dialogue itself should follow the rules of grammar, with the first letter of sentences capitalized, and the appropriate terminal punctuation marks (period, question mark, etc.) in place — the only exception is when a dialogue tag is placed after the dialogue, in which case the dialogue should end with a comma instead of a terminal punctuation mark, such as a period:

“My book is almost done,” she said.

However, when the dialogue tag comes after the dialogue and the dialogue ends with an exclamation point or a question mark, there should be no terminal comma on the dialogue:

“How long will it take to write a book?” she asked.

And the dialogue tag should always start with a lowercase letter, even if preceded by an exclamation point or question mark, which are terminal punctuations marks:

“I wrote a book!” she declared.

Single Quotation Marks

Dialogue within dialogue should be placed in single quotation marks:

She handed him a pen and said, “Here are some words of wisdom: Ursula K. Le Guin once said, ‘First sentences are doors to worlds.'”

Thought Dialogue

Fictional narratives often include the characters’ thoughts:

“Is my book any good?” she wondered.

There are no grammatical rules for formatting thought dialogue. However, if spoken dialogue and thought dialogue are both placed in quotation marks, it could become confusing or difficult for readers to differentiate between the characters’ thoughts and speech.

That’s why many authors use italics for thought dialogue:

Is my book any good?  she wondered.

But often a simple revision will eliminate the need for quotations marks or italics:

She wondered if her book was any good.

What About Text Messages or Notes?

Many authors use italics to indicate text messages within a narrative, including notes that one character writes to another character. If the message or note is more than a few lines, it should be set off in block quotes, and it doesn’t need quotation marks or italics or anything else. However, for a short note or text message, use quotation marks, not italics:

She sent a text message, saying, “I just sent my manuscript to you.”

Titles and Quotation Marks

Most titles should be italicized, including book titles. Quotation marks are used for titles of shorter works (that are part of a larger work). For example, an album title is italicized; a song title is placed in quotation marks. A magazine title is italicized, but the title of an article within the magazine is placed in quotation marks. A book title is italicized, but a chapter title should be in quotation marks.

Quotation Marks vs. Italics

It’s not unusual to see quotation marks and italics used interchangeably or incorrectly. I’ve seen italics used for dialogue and quotes used to refer to words beings referenced as terms within a text. Here’s a quick rundown of correct or common usage:

• Titles of books, magazines, films, television shows, and albums should be italicized.
• Titles of chapters, articles, episodes, and songs should be in quotation marks.
• Quotes, including song lyrics or quoted notes and messages, should be in quotation marks, but if they exceed a few lines, they should be in block quotes.
• When referring to a word as a term, use italics. Example: The word  book has multiple meanings.

Ultimately, the purpose of punctuation marks is to make your writing clear and consistent. You’ll find that the rules of grammar often don’t address questions that arise regarding how to properly use quotation marks. That’s why it’s best to use a style guide, which will cover most issues that grammar doesn’t address.

62 Comments

In the phrase “dialog, quotes, and titles” in the second paragraph, wouldn’t the word quotations be the correct word rather than quotes, as quote is a verb and quotation is a noun?

Hi Sharon. The word quotes is also used to refer to actual quotation marks. In fact, quote(s) has a few different meanings. Check out the entry in the dictionary: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/quotes .

Question about quotation marks used for chapter titles: If the chapter title falls at the end of a sentence, or before a comma, does the punctuation go inside the quotation marks? I have seen several writers do this. My thinking is that the chapter title does NOT include punctuation, so, unlike actual quoted speech, the punctuation is outside of the quotation marks. Example: The first chapter is “How to Tie Knots”. Or, would it be, as many writers do: The first chapter is “How to Tie Knots.”

In America, we put punctuation inside the quotation marks. British English puts punctuation marks outside of the quotations. I was grateful when I learned this because at one point I remember being quite concerned about all the terminal punctuation marks outside the quotations marks I was seeing on the internet. I kept thinking that this was pretty basic stuff, and I saw it coming from a few astute writers. Then I learned that it is correct placement in Britain, and I was relieved. So, here’s your answer:

If you are writing American English: The first chapter is “How to Tie Knots.” If you are writing British English: The first chapter is “How to Tie Knots”.

This formatting is applied whether the terminal punctuation mark is part of the text in quotes or not. The above examples would be the be same if the text within the quotation marks was dialogue. If you’re writing for a mixed audience (e.g. online), then you have to make a judgment call. You might choose based on the majority of your readership or you might simply go with which way feels or looks best to you. Good luck!

Thank you so much for clarifying this! Even though I’m American, the British format makes more sense to me!

You’re welcome!

I think I know what you actually mean, Kay. Suppose you were saying: “Is the last chapter of the book called “How to Tie Knots”? It seems that the question mark should NOT be inside the quotation marks because the title is not “How to Tie Knots?” but “How to Tie Knots.” I think I prefer the Brit way!

It’s a little complicated. In American typesetting, the rule is that smaller punctuation marks like periods and commas go inside quotation marks while larger punctuation marks like question marks and exclamation points go outside the quotation marks. There’s no real logic behind it. It’s actually a matter of aesthetics.

For example, you can write either:

I read a brief essay titled “How to Tie Knots.”

Have you read “How to Tie Knots”?

THANK YOU for posting this! 🙂 very helpful

You’re very welcome! Punctuation can be fun!

o_o can you put a quotation if your thinking something?? (Example:”hmm thats weird” I thought to myself) or this one (hmm thats weird, I thought to myself) which is correct?

As far as I know, there isn’t a right or wrong way to format thoughts. However, most writers use italics since that’s a good way to avoid confusion between internal dialogue (thoughts) and external dialogue (conversation). Example:

Hmm, that’s weird , I thought to myself.

Glad that the subject of internal dialogue was brought up.

In external dialogue, a line might be as follows: “I’m bored,” she said. She said, “I’m bored.” “I’m bored,” she said, “out of my skull.” In either case, the character’s statement has a terminating punctuation (comma in the first, period in the second, both in the third), which is contained INSIDE the quote marks…independent of whether that punctuation would have been used if the dialogue were formatted as a complete sentence (as the comma in the third example).

In INTERNAL dialogue, I would not use quote marks; rather I would italicize the dialogue. My question is thus: Do I format the terminating punctuation with the dialogue in the internal, just as I would include it within quotes in the external? Or do I count it and format it as “narration?”

Chances are, not too many people are going to notice which one I use, but I’d just gone through one of my stories and noticed that I’d been inconsistent in this concern.

If I have two or more statements that are not separated by narration, THAT punctuation will be formatted according to the dialogue, of course, as in: I’M BORED. I’M BORED OUT OF MY SKULL, she thought. The first period would remain formatted with the dialogue, but what about that comma?

I’ve seen so many pages that discuss internal dialogue, AND discuss how to punctuate dialogue, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a combination.

I think that if you’re including the phrase “she thought,” then you need the comma:

I’m bored. I’m bored out of my skull , she thought.

However, once you establish that italicized text indicates internal dialogue, you may not need “she thought” or the comma. You do, however, need to be sure it’s clear which character the internal dialogue belongs to:

Lacy sighed. I’m bored. I’m bored out of my skull.

Thank you for addressing this topic. I am writing a children’s story that is primarily written through the character’s thoughts. For example, S thought, “what would be better?” Or, “this is the best!”,S thought. I gather I should be using italics instead of quotation marks and watching where I place my punctuation marks. I hope I understood your response correctly. Thank you.

I generally advise against writing a story through characters’ thoughts. Readers usually prefer stories that are told through action and dialogue. My recommendation would be to format the thought dialogue without the tags. For example: What would be better? Note that “S thought” is not included. Having said that, please consider this a very loose suggestion. I would need to review your text and overall concept in full in order to make a specific recommendation.

Melissa, thank you so much for all of the helpful info.

I’m actually writing a short story, but I’ve never been a fan of the way this looks — “How are you?” she asked.

Does anyone (including Melissa) know of a way to avoid using quotes altogether in creative fiction dialogue? I have some ideas, but nothing that I feel really works.

Thank you everyone.

Yes! Actually, I have seen writers forgo dialogue quotes altogether and use italics instead. In that case, the challenge is to make sure that it’s very clear who is speaking. I would try some different methods and see if any of them work for your project. If they don’t, then you may have to come back to standard quotation marks. Best of luck to you!

Personally, I think that not using quotes in dialogue would be confusing. Do you have a specific reason for not wanting to use quotes except aesthetics? If you don’t add a dialogue tag every time, I think it would get confused with action, and continually using ‘he said/she said,’ gets boring.

This post explains that I do use quotes for dialogue and italics for thought dialogue. One well-known writer who didn’t use quotes was Cormac McCarthy, and you can see an example of this in his book The Road . The dialogue is quite clear in that book, even without quotes.

It’s easy – everything goes within the quotation marks. The best way to learn is to practice writing dialogue.

…unless you’re British, in which case everything (and by “everything,” I mean terminal punctuation marks) goes outside of the quotation marks.

Melissa, I’m British, and I’ve never heard it said that all punctuation marks go outside the quotes. Quite the contrary. We were taught that they ALWAYS go inside. I learned about using quotes many long years (decades) ago. It wasn’t a problem. We were taught how to do it, did lots of examples, and we learned and remembered. (Mostly). Most of the punctuation we were taught stuck. And that includes apostrophes, which I think is easy. If it belong to someone or something use an apostrophe. If there are more than one, don’t. (Exception: it. It’s means It is, so to avoid confusion, the possessive has no apostrophe. Its.

Most British writing resources I’ve found along with various posts and books have certain punctuation marks outside the quotes. A search online for “british punctuation quotation marks” will show plenty of results confirming this. Wikipedia explains and cites it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quotation_marks_in_English#British_style .

I love the article, but I still have trouble with question marks in dialogue. There’s no difficulty when the question finishes the sentence as in: She asked, “What do you want?” The difficult bit is when the sentence is reversed: “What do you want?” she asked. Although this looks right doesn’t the question mark denote the end of the sentence. If so, shouldn’t the following ‘she’ begin with a capital?

You’ve got it right. A question mark in dialogue is formatted as follows: “What do you want?” she asked. If the dialogue had been anything other than a question, the question mark would be replaced with a comma, even if the dialogue was a full sentence. You might pick up a grammar or style guide that you can reference when these types of questions arise. Good luck!

Hi, Melissa,

A friend and I are editing/critiquing each other’s fiction novels. In my work, my character says:

“None of them had a patient of my husband’s description. Lydia called back and said there were no accident reported, so I decided to drive over here to his office and see if he might have broken down between here and home. Nothing.

“I just arrived here when Corporal Barber and his partner pulled up.”

My friend says that I should close quotations after the word nothing. Since my character continues what she is saying on the next line, I know that I should not close the quotation. I’ve tried to look it up on several websites to show her, but I can’t find it. What is the truth?

Hi Sharolyn. Your friend has the right idea. Dialogue should end with a paragraph via closing quotation marks. If the dialogue continues at the start of the next paragraph, that next paragraph should commence with opening quotation marks. Note that I am referring to paragraphs, not “lines.” The proper way to punctuate your example would be as follows:

“None of them had a patient of my husband’s description. Lydia called back and said there were no accident reported, so I decided to drive over here to his office and see if he might have broken down between here and home. Nothing.”

As a side note, the word accident should be pluralized. You might want to check a few novels to see how dialogue and punctuation marks are carried out with similar constructs.

I just found this on a website:

6.If a quotation spills out over more than one paragraph, don’t use end quotes at the close of the first paragraph. Use them only when a character is done speaking.

I would agree with Sharolyn on this one. If you close the quotes at the end of a paragraph and then open them again at the beginning of the next, it could appear that someone else is speaking.

I think Sharlyn proves right in this case. in many instances, I have seen this appear in books, and it also makes sense.

Yes, I’ve seen it done both ways. Whichever way you choose, make sure it’s consistent throughout the manuscript. A good way to ensure consistency is to use a style guide (I recommend Chicago Manual of Style ).

I learned that if the speech is carried on to another paragraph, there should be no closing quotes at the end of the paragraph, but opening ones at the beginning of the next. I looked it up. Louiseharnbyproofreader.com agrees with me, as does the MLA handbook. Closing the quotes signifies the end of that person’s speech, so could cause confusion. Leaving the previous paragraph open shows that it’s not a new person speaking.

I have a question. I quoted the Buddha’s Eightfold Path in an assignment. I said: The Buddha’s Eightfold Path includes; right view, right aim, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right mindfulness. Just a list… and I gave him credit. Should I have put that in quotations? Should I put the Ten Commandments in quotations? I could not find that answer to this anywhere, and the list part itself was tagged as plagiarism by Safe Assign. It seems someone else listed the same path on essays.com or some such site. Safe Assign is wrong, of course!!! I have never even thought of cheating that way. I memorized that information from my notes in the course… Anyway, I need to know if I was wrong.

Hi Julie. Your question is a little beyond the scope of comment discussion. How you format quotations depends on where you are publishing or submitting your work. Generally, you should ask an authority figure (teacher, boss, editor) which style guide you should be using, then consult that guide to find out how to properly format a piece of writing. If there is no style guide established, I recommend using The Chicago Manual of Style , which you’ll find in most bookstores and on Amazon.

I’m editing a kid’s magazine. The format that they have chosen to go with is to emphasize by use of quotation marks. eg: Learning Objective: Practice the usage of “behind.” They use North American English, and thus should follow NA grammar rules, but do you think that the period should still fall within the quotation marks when the period is not part of what is being emphasized with the quotation marks? It’s pretty tough to find punctuation rules when using quotations marks for emphasis. I would rather just italicize them, but they’re the boss.

Learning Objective: Practice the usage of “behind.”

That is exactly how I would format it. In the U.S. we rarely put terminal punctuation marks outside the closing quotation marks.

If the title of the magazine appears in an italicized sentence, then do you just leave it italicized (along with the rest of the sentence)…or put it in quotes to stand out?

A title should either be in quotes or italics, not both. Whether you use quotes or italics depends on the style guide that you’re using. Normally, I would put the magazine title in italics and the title of an article within the magazine in quotes. Good luck!

If quoted paragraphs do not fit on one page and at the end of first page (continued on back page) is typed, does one place quotation marks before (continued on back page) and on back page start with quotation marks to end it, or just put them at the beginning and very end of entire quote,only? Please advise, Thanks.

Pat, it really depends on the publication you’re writing for. If this is for a class, you should consult with your instructor or the style guide that he or she assigned. Most style guides mandate that you do not include quotes at all on quoted material that exceeds two lines. Instead, you indent the entire quote and leave the marks out. There are different rules if the quotes designate dialogue. You would not issue an extra set of quotation marks because the quoted material continues on the next page. The reader knows that the first marks open the quotation and the quotation does not close until the closing marks. Again, there are exceptions and the rules vary depending on style, form, and publication. Dialogue, in particular, is handled differently.

In the novel form, Is it proper to place dialogue in italics, without placing quotes around the italicized dialogue. This would be for emphasis and not general use throughout the manuscript.

Generally, italics should not be used to emphasize or identify dialogue. So no, it is not proper to format it with italics and without quotation marks. The dialogue should speak for itself (no pun intended) and italics for emphasis should be used rarely (better yet: not at all). It’s best to let the reader determine where the emphasis belongs and a well written sentence shouldn’t need to show the reader where the emphasis goes. Having said all that, plenty of writers have taken creative liberty with punctuation marks. But consider this:

“You don’t have to go,” she said. “You don’t have to go,” she said.

As you can see, the italics tell the reader where to place emphasis but does so unnecessarily. Good luck.

I don’t like to disagree with an expert, but I think the emphasis is important. Emphasising different words changes the meaning of the sentence. Try it. I can’t put italics on here. My tablet won’t let me. Emphasis on ‘you’ means that everyone else is going, but ‘you’ can stay home. Emphasis on ‘don’t’ indicates that the person thinks they do have to go, but the speaker is saying they don’t. Emphasis on ‘have’ indicates it’s not compulsory. Emphasis on ‘go’ indicates that the person can stay.

Most of your comments on this post are disagreeing with it. The sentence is “You don’t have to go.” Deeper meaning would ideally be provided with words, not formatting.

If the intended meaning is “Everyone else is going, but you can stay home,” then that should be the sentence.

Formatting isn’t always available and should not be relied on for full meaning. But each writer needs to do what they feel is best in any given situation. There might be times when the best option is to use formatting for emphasis. I think this would most likely occur in dialogue. This is just my opinion, but I think the best writing doesn’t require special formatting to reveal its meaning.

Hi Melissa, I am a speech-language pathologist and I have a question regarding a problem I face in report writing for my profession. Here is an example from a report: The client was engaged in converstation and independently answered the following questions: “how are you?”; “how old are you?”; “where do you live?”; and “are you married?”.

Can you please tell me if my punctuation and capitalization are correct? Thanks for your help! Nicole

This comments section isn’t really a place to get professional advice on commercial writing. As a quick answer, however, I would format the questions into a bulleted list and eliminate the quotation marks. Also, the first letter in each sentence (a question is a sentence) should be capitalized. Good luck!

When a character is relating a conversation to another, and he quotes a third character’s short sentences mixed with and his own short responses, can all the short sentence quotes go into one paragraph or must each change of speaker have its own paragraph. For example:

Wolf said, “I told him, ‘You can’t go in there.’ He told me, ‘I don’t care, I’m going in.’ I warned him,” Wolf said, “‘This gun is loaded, and I know how to use it.’ He said defiantly, ‘you’ll have to use it to keep me out.'”

My suggestion would be to rewrite this so that you don’t need so many quotation marks. I would also use the other character’s name. This is pretty confusing the way it’s written. For starters, if Wolf is relating a conversation, he can summarize it instead of quoting dialogue. Here’s an example:

Wolf said, “I told him not to go in there, but he didn’t care. I warned him, showed him my gun…”

Another option would be to write the scene as it’s happening instead of having Wolf relate it:

“You can’t go in there,” Wolf said.

“I don’t care. I’m going in,” said Joe.

Hope that helps.

Hi Melissa, This is a very helpful article and I appreciate all of the advice you have given to the commenters. I have a question I am hoping you can help with. I am writing my first novel and it is first person. My character, Madelyn, is reading a letter that she received from her friend, Ellie. So I am wondering; would the dialogue in the letter be placed into quotation marks like spoken dialogue? Or is distinguishing the written dialogue from the spoken dialogue more a matter of formatting (i.e. indenting the written dialogue)? Or maybe I’m missing some other option I should use to punctuate this part?

Any advice you might have would be very much appreciated!

I have seen this in novels before. Sometimes, written communications are set off by italics. Another good way to distinguish a lengthy passage of written communication is to use a full-paragraph indent, so the entire paragraph is indented by about half an inch with extra spacing above and below. Good luck with your novel!

Hi everyone!

I’ve not read all the comments here but I’m English and would like to point out why we use a ful stop (period) after a quotation mark. A full stop (period) indicates the end of a sentence so it must be placed outside the quotation mark, otherwise it is suggesting the end of the sentence comes BEFORE the final quotation mark. The only way a full stop (period) can be used before the quotation mark is when the entire sentence is in quotes, which rarely happens The American way cannot possibly make sense imho.

Having said that, I found the entire article very interesting. Thanks.

I can see the logic there, but it raises the question of when the sentence actually ends. I would say the sentence is the character’s dialogue and the sentence ends as soon as the character stops speaking, and then the character closes his/her mouth (at which point the quotation marks appear).

When the period is outside the quotation marks, it looks sloppy to me, like it’s floating around out there by itself, not attached to a sentence.

I think it’s just because we’re used to whatever standards are common in our respective countries.

When the emphasized word occurs within a clause and is followed by a comma, I presume the comma is still always inside the quotes? “Just fly down the shore of Lake Michigan to the “Temple,” turn west, and there it is!”

This would be true regardless of the word emphasized?

In the example sentence, there is no reason to emphasize the word temple (also, it should not be capitalized unless it’s the proper name of a particular temple). In any case, we do not use quotation marks for emphasis — they are reserved solely for quotes, dialogue, and (sometimes) chapter or article titles. If we do need to emphasize a word, we would use italics or bold. Occasionally, we might use ALL-CAPS (but this usually indicates yelling). However, we never emphasize a word in order to tell the reader where the emphasis should be in the sentence.

“Just fly down the shore of Lake Michigan to the temple, turn west, and there it is!”

Some of the finer points people raise really can be perplexing. Your advice to consult a style manual appropriate to the context is right on. The Purdue Owl has some reliable online guidance that will generally be accepted in academic settings and will also serve for all but the most esoteric fiction situations. In writing groups I belong to, I sometimes see writers who seem completely at sea on some of the most basic points you’ve covered. I would suggest that as a starting point, writers should look at traditionally published books in their own country to see how publishing houses handle these issues. If you’re a reader, you’ll have this kind of guidance close at hand!

Yes, I have often visited the Purdue Owl. Thanks for mentioning that. And I agree that studying traditionally published books is a good way to learn. Reading is essential for all writers.

Excellent article! Sharing…

Thanks, Bette. I appreciate it.

Thanks for this thorough and helpful advice.

Thanks for this article. I’ve made enough comments as I was going through, but it was very helpful.

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Using Quotation Marks

The rules for using quotation marks.

Table of Contents

Four Ways to Use Quotation Marks

Using quotation marks explained in detail, (1) using quotation marks for previously spoken or written words, (2) using quotation marks for the names of ships, books, and plays, (3) using quotation marks to signify so-called or alleged, (4) using quotation marks to show a word refers to the word itself, why quotation marks are important.

(1) To identify previously spoken or written words.

(2) To highlight the name of things like ships, books, and plays.

(3) To signify so-called or alleged.

(4) To show that a word refers to the word itself not the word's meaning.

(Issue 1) Being inconsistent with single or double quotation marks.

(Issue 2) Using quotation marks with reported speech

(issue 3) being unsure whether to use a comma or a colon before a quotation..

(Rule 1) Use a colon if the introduction is an independent clause.

• New York gang members all advise the following: "Don't run from fat cops. They shoot earlier."

(Rule 2) You can use a colon if the quotation is a complete sentence.

• The orders state: "In case of fire, exit the building before tweeting about it."

(Rule 3) Use a comma if the introduction is not an independent clause.

• Before each shot, the keeper said aloud, "bum, belly, beak, bang."
• Peering over his glasses, he said, "Never test the depth of a river with both feet."

(Rule 4) You can only use a comma after a quotation.

• "Always give 100%, unless you're donating blood", he would always say.

(Rule 5) Don't use any punctuation if the quotation is not introduced.

• I believe there really is, "no place like home."
• I would hate to see the worst if this is the, "best skiing resort in France".

(Issue 4) Being unsure whether to place punctuation inside or outside the quotation.

(Issue 5) Using quotation marks for emphasis.

• Nest single quotation marks within doubles.
• The instructions say: "Shout 'Yahtzee' loudly."
• Don't put reported speech in quotation marks.

Two Points about Editing Quotations

This page was written by Craig Shrives .

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