Chapter Thirty-Six Quotation Marks Prepared by Professors Rita Perkins and Paul Harris Camden County College
Quotation Marks (“ ”) There are two main uses of quotation marks: 1. To set off the EXACT words of a speaker or writer. 2. To set off the titles of short works.
Quotation Marks (“ ”) Use quotation marks to show the exact words of a speaker or writer. NOT NEEDED Jennifer said that she enjoyed shopping for clothes. NEEDED Jennifer said, “I enjoy shopping for clothes.”
Using Punctuation with Quotation Marks (“ ”) EXAMPLE: Ryan explained, “ The skis are on sale until tomorrow.” A comma sets off the quoted part from the rest of the sentence. Periods at the end of the a quote go INSIDE the quotation marks. EXAMPLE: “If the mall opens at nine,” David said, “we can eat breakfast there.” Commas that come at the end of a quoted sections go inside the quotation marks.
Capitalization EXAMPLE: Martha explained, “The flower shop is my favorite store to visit.” Every quotation begins with a capital letter. EXAMPLE: “Bands play music every Wednesday night,” Jason said, “especially in the new coffee shop.” When a quotation is split, the second part does not begin with a capital letter unless it is another complete sentence.
Titles The second main use of quotation marks is with titles of short works. With titles of major works we use italics. If a font with italics is not avÈâ-8ble, the titles of long works are underlined.
Titles Use quotation marks to set off the titles of articles, short stories, poems, and songs. Long works such as novels, magazine titles, and movies are either in italics or they are underlined. Example: The bookstore sells Teen Fad magazine which has the article “Why Tattoos Attract Men.”
Special Uses of Quotation Marks To set off special words or phrases from the rest of a sentence. Rob’s “nutritious lunch” consisted of a candy bar and a bag of corn chips. To mark a quote within a quote. For this purpose, use single quotes. Jamie said, “My favorite short story is ‘Twirling’ by Carolyn Murphy.”