Double quotes are used to mark speech, for titles of short works like TV shows and articles, as scare quotes to indicate irony or an author's disagreement with a premise. … Single quotes are
used to enclose a quote within a quote
, a quote within a headline, or a title within a quote.
Should I use single or double quotation marks?
If you are an American, using quotation marks could hardly be simpler:
Use double quotation marks at all times unless quoting something within a quotation
, when you use single. It's different in the greater Anglosphere, where they generally use singles in books and doubles in newspapers.
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
.
What are double quotes used for?
Quotation marks, double (“”) or single (”), are generally used for
direct quotes, certain titles, and words used in a special manner
. Quotation marks are ALWAYS used in pairs, one at the beginning of the quoted text and one at the end. The same rule applies to titles and words used in a special sense or for emphasis.
Are single quotation marks used alone?
In a headline,
single quotation marks are used in place of the standard
double quotation marks. So, if the headline includes the title of a song, short story or a quotation, you would use single quotation marks. Generally, you'll see this used when the headline is in reference to something someone said.
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.
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.
How do you use single and double quotation marks?
General Usage Rules
In America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the general rule is that
double quotes are used to denote direct speech
. Single quotes are used to enclose a quote within a quote, a quote within a headline, or a title within a quote.
How do you properly use quotation marks?
- We use quotation marks with direct quotes, with titles of certain works, to imply alternate meanings, and to write words as words.
- Block quotations are not set off with quotation marks.
- The quoted text is capitalized if you're quoting a complete sentence and not capitalized if you're quoting a fragment.
Do full stops go inside speech marks?
The
full stop should be placed before the closing quotation mark
when the sentence quoted is a full grammatical sentence, i.e a sentence that can stand on its own and is complete. … In this case, the full stop must come before the closing quotation mark.
How do you put multiple quotes in one sentence?
For direct quotations of more than one paragraph,
place open quotation marks at the start of each new paragraph
. Place close quotation marks at the end of only the last paragraph.
How do you properly quote someone?
Use quotation marks only when
quoting someone's exact words
, either spoken or written. This is called a direct quotation. “I prefer my cherries chocolate covered,” joked Alyssa. Jackie kept repeating, “Good dog, good dog!”
When should you use double quotation marks?
- exact wording taken from a source to show where it begins and ends. …
- a title of a shorter work, such as an article, poem, or short story. …
- character dialogue in narrative writing. …
- words when you are referring to them as a word or a label.
Can you use single quotes for emphasis?
Emphasis
.
Do not use quotation marks to emphasize a word
. Just don't. … The strength of your words should make any formatting unnecessary, but if you really want to emphasize something, use boldface or italics.
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.
Should a letter be in quotation marks?
There's no additional rule for individual characters
. I don't think it's essential to use quotation marks when indicating an individual letter, but it may help for clarity. It helps when distinguishing between single-letter words and single letters, for example.
