Quotation Marks with Other Marks Writing Lab Quotation Marks with Other Marks

Quotation Marks with Other Marks Use quotation marks to set off direct quotes, but not to set off indirect quotation. Lily said, “This is the slowest service I’ve ever seen.” The waiter said that our food will be here soon. Use single quotation marks to enclose a quotation within a quotation. “As my own mother used to say, ‘Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater,’” warned Mom.

Quotation Marks with Other Marks cont. A comma or a period belongs inside the quotation marks at the end of a quotation. “The Charleses probably don’t have money for shoes,” Mother answered. “You have shoes, and you will wear them.” A semicolon or colon belongs outside the quotation marks at the end of a quotation. The graffito on the wall reads “ESP should be outlawed”; underneath is “I knew you were going to say that!”

Quotation Marks with Other Marks cont. 2 If a question mark, exclamation point, or dash is part of the quotation, place it inside the quotation marks. Dean Martin once asked, “Ain’t love a kick in the head?” “Sometimes I so remind myself of Socrates!” Jason said. If both the quotation and the tag are questions or exclamations, place them outside the quotation marks. Save us from his “mercy”! Was it Patrick Henry who said “Give me liberty or give me death”?

Quotation Marks with Other Marks cont. 3 Use quotation marks to include any words, phrases, or short passages quoted from another source. If Descartes had said “I think not . . .,” would he have disappeared? Use quotation marks to set off slang, nicknames, clichés, or intentional ungrammatical expressions. Dr. Harry “Lee Lee” Lewis is a brilliant but “laid-back” professor.

That’s all, folks! This lesson is part of the UWF Writing Lab Grammar Mini-Lesson Series Lessons adapted from Real Good Grammar, Too by Mamie Webb Hixon To find out more, visit the Writing Lab’s website where you can take a self-scoring quiz corresponding to this lesson