quotation marks. “ i’m taking the test tomorrow, ” stated ryan. cindy asked, “ when do we...
TRANSCRIPT
QUOTATION MARKS
“I’m taking the test tomorrow,” stated Ryan.
Cindy asked, “When do we get our ID cards?” “I hope,” said Dan, “that it doesn’t rain during
the picnic.” “The date is set,” declared Bob. “We can’t
change it.”
Use quotation marks to enclose a direct quotation—a person’s exact words.
Jan complained that her legs hurt from jogging.
The teacher explained that the test would take the entire class period.
Sam asked if we were going to work on the project after school.
Do not use quotation marks to enclose an indirect quotation—a rewording of a person’s
exact words.
A directly quoted sentence begins with a capital letter.
“Please sign in when you get to the Media
Center,” reminded the teacher.
Her father asked, “Why did you buy another
purse?”
“We need to finish our project this week!” his partner exclaimed.
Direct Quotations and Capitalization
Capitalize a directly quoted remark even if the remark is not a complete sentence—frequently used in written dialogue.
Mr. Smith answered, “On Friday, of course.”“Yes,” she agreed.
Direct Quotations and Capitalization
When an interrupting expression divides a quoted sentence into two parts, the second part begins with a lowercase letter.
“I’m not sure,” remarked Annette, “whether I’ll
be able to attend the meeting.” “She drove over one hundred miles,” he stated,
“to see you on your birthday.”
Direct Quotations and Capitalization
If the first and second parts of a direct quote are complete sentences, a period follows the interrupting expression, and the second part begins with a capital letter.
“Her street address is 123 Fourth Street,” said
Julia. “Did you know that?” “Where have you been, Jim?” asked Lee. “The
bus is leaving.”
Direct Quotations and Capitalization
When a direct quotation of two or more sentences by the same speaker is not divided, only one set of quotation marks is used.
Tanya suggested, “Let’s donate the profits from
the car wash to Operation Christmas Child. It provides a shoebox of gifts to children in developing
countries who face difficult circumstances such as
disease, poverty, famine, or war.”
Direct Quotations and Capitalization
A direct quote is set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma, question mark, or exclamation point, but not a period.
“Your projects are due on November 17,” reminded Ms. Snader.
“On what day is your 16th birthday?” asked her friend.
“You forgot? You’d better get me a good present!” she exclaimed.
Direct Quotations and Punctuation
Commas and periods are always placed inside the quotation marks.
“The concert tickets are sold out,” Mary said,
“and I had really wanted to go.” “The ad says that it’s for health and relaxation,”
she stated.
Direct Quotations and Punctuation
Colons and semicolons are placed outside the closing quotation marks.
The following students have been named “most likely
to succeed”: Jane Doe and Sam Smith.
He quoted a Cameroonian proverb, “By trying often,
the monkey learns to jump from the tree”; it reminded me of the expression “If at first you don’t
succeed, try, try again.”
Direct Quotations and Punctuation
A question mark or exclamation point is placed inside the quotation marks if the quotation itself is a question or exclamation.
“What time is the game tomorrow?” Maria asked.
While I was at bat, Sam kept yelling, “Hit it over the
fence!”
Direct Quotations and Punctuation
A question mark or exclamation point is placed outside the quotation marks when the entire sentence is a question or exclamation and not the direct quotation.
Why did you shout, “It doesn’t matter”? Don’t say, “I’d rather not”!
Direct Quotations and Punctuation
When both the sentence and the quotation at the end of the sentence are questions or exclamations, only one question mark or exclamation point is used. It is placed inside the quotation marks.
Who asked, “What time is it?”
Direct Quotations and Punctuation
When a quoted passage consists of more than one paragraph, put quotation marks at the beginning of each paragraph and at the end of the entire passage. Do not put quotation marks after every paragraph.
“Now, this car is one of our hottest sellers. It has bucket seats, a CD player, and alloy wheels.
“It’s also one of the safest cars on the road because of its heavy suspension and antilock brake system. It gets good gas mileage, too.
“All in all, I think this would be the perfect car for
you.”
Direct Quotations and Punctuation
When writing dialogue (a conversation), begin a new paragraph every time the speaker changes, and enclose each speaker’s words in quotation marks.
A man of Merv, well known as the home of complicated thinkers, ran shouting one night through the city’s streets. “Thief, Thief!” he cried.
The people surrounded him, and when he was a little calmer, asked: “Where was the thief?”
“In my house.”“Did you see him?”“No.” from “The Thief” by Niamat
Khan
Quotation Marks and Dialogue
Use quotation marks to enclose titles (including subtitles) of short works. SHORT STORIES— “The Gift of the Magi” POEMS— “In Memory of Richi” ESSAYS/ARTICLES— “The 9/11 Disappeareds” SONGS— “Blessed Be the Tie That Binds” TV EPISODES— The Walking Dead “Slabtown” CHAPTERS— Chapter 23 “Punctuation: Semicolons
and Colons”
Quotation Marks and Titles
Use single quotation marks to enclose a quotation or title within a quotation.
Bob said, “Dad yelled, ‘No way!’”
Megan asked, “Did you like my rendition of ‘America
the Beautiful’?”
Single Quotation Marks
Use quotation marks to enclose slang words, technical terms, and unusual uses of words.
My best friend said my new shoes look very “fly.” Is there now a computer that can perform more than
fifteen “gigaflops” (that is, fifteen billion operations) a second?
Fire burns oxygen quickly; my chemistry teacher says flame is a “gas-guzzler.”
Single Quotation Marks