Inverted commas are punctuation marks used to show where speech or a quotation begins and ends. In American English, inverted commas are called quotation marks. In British English, we use
single marks more often than the double marks
.
When should you use inverted commas?
- “I'm hungry,” she complained.
- If another character replies, use another set of inverted commas.
- “What's for tea?” she asked.
Are inverted commas the same as quotation marks?
In English writing, quotation marks or inverted commas, also known informally as quotes, talking marks, speech marks, quote marks, quotemarks or speechmarks, are punctuation marks placed on
either side of a word
or phrase in order to identify it as a quotation, direct speech or a literal title or name.
What are single quotation marks used for?
Single quotation marks are also known as ‘quote marks', ‘quotes', ‘speech marks' or ‘inverted commas'. Use them to:
show direct speech and the quoted work of other writers
.
How are quotation marks different than commas?
Quotation marks and other punctuation marks
In the United States, the rule of thumb is that
commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks
, and colons and semicolons (dashes as well) go outside: “There was a storm last night,” Paul said.
Where do we use double inverted commas?
mark
the beginning and end of direct speech
(i.e. a speaker's words written down exactly as they were spoken). EXAMPLE: ‘What time does the lecture begin?' she asked. [NOTE: in American English, the rule is to use double quotation marks: “What time does the lecture begin?” she asked.]
Do you use inverted commas for titles?
The rules for quotation marks around titles vary depending on which style guide you follow. In general,
you should italicize the titles of long works
, like books, movies, or record albums. Use quotation marks for the titles of shorter pieces of work: poems, articles, book chapters, songs, T.V. episodes, etc.
Does developing countries need inverted commas?
Use only double inverted
.
commas
, e.g. College students are to be offered year-long work experience positions in “developing” countries under plans to. link the UK's domestic policies with parts of the nation's foreign aid budget.
Do you put a full stop before or after inverted commas?
For the relative placing of quotation marks and punctuation, follow Hart's rules. Thus, if an extract ends with a full stop or question-mark,
put the punctuation before the closing inverted commas
.
What is the difference between single inverted commas and double inverted commas?
In common usage, there may be a distinction between the single and double quotation marks in this context; often, single quotation marks are used to embrace single characters, while double quotation marks enclose whole words or phrases[.]
Where do we use single and double inverted commas?
In British English we use single inverted
commas for direct speech
and double marks to enclose the quote. Example: Mr Smith said, ‘I think it was Sarah who said “It was a mistake” more than once. ‘ In American English you use single quotation marks when direct speech is quoted within another piece of direct speech.
Should you use single or double quotation marks?
As a general rule, British usage has in the past usually preferred single quotes for ordinary use, but double quotes are now increasingly common;
American usage has always preferred double quotes
. …
Where do single quotation marks go?
Single quotation marks are used
to indicate quotations inside of other quotations
. “Jessie said, ‘Goodbye,'” Ben said. This is Ben talking, so his words go in quotation marks. But because we're quoting Ben quoting someone else, Jessie, we use single quotation marks to indicate the quote within the quote.
What is the example of quotation mark?
Quotation marks inside quotation marks
For example: She said, “
I read the chapter ‘The Tall Tree' yesterday
.” British English varies on this, but in many cases the double quotation marks are inside and the single quotation marks are outside. For example: She said, ‘I read the chapter “The Tall Tree” yesterday. ‘
What are () called in English?
two dots over the word, and what it is called when a word is “within” ? – I don't really know what people call this. They are called
quotation marks
. And in the U.S, the () are called parenthesis, and the [] are called brackets.
What do quotation marks look like?
Quotation marks can be
double
(“…”) or single (‘…') – that is really a matter of style (but see below for more about this). Quotation marks are also called “quotes” or “inverted commas”. 1.
