Writing skills success - LearningExpress 2009

Lesson 8. Quotation marks
Pretest

I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation.

—George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright (1856-1950)

LESSON SUMMARY

This lesson covers rules regarding the use of quotation marks, both double and single. Although these marks are most often found in dialogue, they are important in other writing situations as well.

Begin this lesson by seeing how much you already know about quotation marks. Insert them where you think they belong in the sentences in the Problem column on the following page. Some sentences will also need end marks and commas. Check your answers against the corrected versions of the sentences in the Solution column.

Quotation Marks with Direct Quotations

■ Use quotation marks to set off a direct quotation or thought within a sentence or paragraph. This includes quotations that are signed, etched, inscribed, carved, and so on.

Examples:

Mr. Hurley called our prototype “a model of pure genius.”

I was certain he had said, “Campbells will accept delivery on Tuesday.”

“When will help arrive?” I wondered.

The sign clearly read, “No trespassing.” “Happy and Fulfilled,” the headstone read.

■ Do not use quotation marks for paraphrases or indirect quotations.

Examples:

I was sure Campbells had wanted a Tuesday delivery.

I wondered when help would arrive.

The sign said that trespassing and hunting were not allowed.

■ Use single quotation marks to set off a quotation within a quotation.

Examples:

“I distinctly heard her say, ’The store opens at nine,’” said Gene.

The speaker continued, “I am ever mindful of Franklin Roosevelt’s famous words, ’We have nothing to fear but fear itself.’ But fear is a terrible thing.”

My speech teacher asked, “Does anyone in this room remember the way Jim Nabors used to say, ’Golly’?”

A Word about Dialogue

Correctly punctuating dialogue means understanding how to use quotation marks, commas, and end marks. Take a close look at the sentences in the following dialogue sample. They include the basic dialogue structures. The words quoted are called quotations, and the words explaining who said the quotations are called tags. In this sample, the tags are highlighted.

1. “I’m really thirsty. Let’s grab something to drink,” said Horace.

2. Nancy replied, “I’m thirsty, but I don’t have any cash. Do you have some?”

3. “I don’t get it,” Horace answered. “You’re the manager with the high-paying job.”

4. “Well,” Nancy replied, “credit cards are all I ever use.”

Quoted words are always surrounded by quotation marks. Place quotation marks before a group of quoted words and again at the end.

Tags are punctuated differently depending upon where they appear in the sentence. Whenever the tag follows a quotation and the quotation is a sentence that would normally be punctuated with a period, use a comma at the end of the quotation. The period comes at the end of the tag. However, if the quotation is a sentence that would normally be followed with a question mark or an exclamation point, insert the question mark or exclamation point at the end of the quotation. Place a period after the tag. (See sentence 1 in the previous column.)

“I’m really thirsty. Let’s grab something to drink,” said Alvina.

“I’m really thirsty. Do you want to grab something to drink?” asked Alvina.

“I’m really thirsty. Hold it—a vending machine!” exclaimed Alvina.

Sometimes, the tag precedes the quotation. When this happens, place a comma after the tag. Put quotation marks around the quoted words, capitalize the first word of the quotation, and punctuate the sentence as you would normally. (See sentence 2.)

Sometimes, the tag interrupts the quotation. If both the first and second parts of the quotation are complete sentences, the first part of the quotation is punctuated in the same way as a quotation with the tag at the end. In other words, the period follows the tag. The rest of the quotation is punctuated in the same way as a quotation preceded by a tag. (See sentence 3.)

When the tag interrupts the quotation and the sentence, the words preceding the tag begin the thought, and the words following the tag complete the thought. Place quotation marks around the quoted words and follow the first part of the quotation with a comma. Place a comma after the tag (not a period, since the sentence is not completed). Place quotation marks around the last part of the quotation, but do not capitalize the first letter of the quotation. It is not the beginning of a sentence. Punctuate the rest of the sentence as you would normally. (See sentence 4.)

NOTE: All the punctuation is inside the quotation marks except the punctuation marks following the tags.

Dialogue at a Glance

■ Tag following the quotation mark:

“...,” said Rose.

“...?” asked Rose.

“...!” exclaimed Rose.

■ Tag preceding quotation:

Iris said, “... .”

Iris asked, “...?”

Iris exclaimed, “...!”

■ Tag between two sentences of a quotation:

“...; said Lily. “... .”

“...?” asked Lily. “...?”

“...!” exclaimed Lily. “...!”

■ Tag interrupting a quotation and a sentence:

“...,” said Daisy, “... .”

“...,” asked Daisy, “...?”

“...,” exclaimed Daisy, “...!”

Other Uses of Quotation Marks

■ Use quotation marks to set off unfamiliar terms and nicknames. You will often see italics used in the same manner.

Examples:

None of us had heard of “chutney” before we read the article.

He was dubbed “Sir Tagalong” by the other members of the staff.

The Scrabble players disagreed over the term “ptu.” (or . . . over the term ptu.)

■ Use quotation marks to indicate irony or raised eyebrows. But avoid overusing quotation marks in this way; it doesn’t work if you do it all the time.

Examples:

When we were camping, our “bathroom” was a thicket behind our tent.

Our “guide” never mentioned the presence of poison ivy.

The “fun” of surgery begins long before the operation commences.

■ Use quotation marks to set off titles of certain items. Other titles should be underlined or italicized.

Punctuating within Quotation Marks

Here are the rules regarding the use of other punctuation marks and quotation marks.

■ Question marks, exclamation points, and dashes go inside the quotation marks if they are part of the quotation. If they are not, place them outside the quotation marks.

Examples:

The doctor asked, “Can you feel any pain in this area?” [Part of the quotation]

Have you read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark”? [Not part of the quotation]

“I wish I’d never heard of—” Karen stopped abruptly as Nick walked in the room. [Part of the quotation]

“Stage left,” “stage right,” “upstage,” and “downstage”—I always confused these terms. [Not part of the quotation]

■ Periods and commas go inside closing quotation marks.

“Let’s wait a few minutes,” suggested Doris, “before we leave.”

■ Colons and semicolons go outside closing quotation marks.

I can see only one challenge for the speaker of “The Road Less Traveled”: ambivalence.

The critic called the latest sculpture an “abomination to sensitive eyes”; the artist was hurt.

Practice

Choose the correctly punctuated version in each of the following sets of sentences. Also, check for punctuation other than quotation marks.

1. a. “Have you ever read the story ’The Open Window’ by O. Henry? asked Martha.

b. “Have you ever read the story ’The Open Window’ by O. Henry?” asked Martha.

c. “Have you ever read the story “The Open Window” by O. Henry?” asked Martha.

2. a. It escapes me why Trent, a Barley Brothers clown who is touted an “expert,” was not asked to speak at the NE Clown Association meeting tomorrow.

b. It escapes me why Trent, “a Barley Brothers clown who is touted an expert,” was not asked to speak at the NE Clown Association meeting tomorrow.

c. It escapes me why Trent, a “Barley Brothers clown” who is touted an expert, was not asked to speak at the NE Clown Association meeting tomorrow.

3. a. After reading a review of Toy Story, I wanted to see the movie.

b. After reading a review of Toy Story, I wanted to see the movie.

c. After reading a review of “Toy Story,” I wanted to see the movie.

4. a. Leaving five minutes early on Friday was our “reward.”

b. Leaving five minutes early on Friday was our “reward”.

c. Leaving five minutes early on Friday was our ’reward.’

5. a. “Firewall,” “bandwidth,” “URL”—these are some of the technical terms you’ll learn in this class.

b. “Firewall,” “bandwidth,” “URL—” these are some of the technical terms you’ll learn in this class.

c. “Firewall”, “bandwidth”, “URL”—these are some of the technical terms you’ll learn in this class.

6. a. If you read my article Budget Play in this morning’s Register, you’ll understand why I’m so cynical about Washington politicians.

b. If you read my article “Budget Play” in this morning’s “Register”, you’ll understand why I’m so cynical about Washington politicians.

c. If you read my article “Budget Play” in this morning’s Register, you’ll understand why I’m so cynical about Washington politicians.

7. a. “Never have I seen anything quite like today’s performance,” remarked Coach Smith.

b. “Never have I seen anything quite like today’s performance”, remarked Coach Smith.

c. “Never have I seen anything quite like today’s performance.”, remarked Coach Smith.

8. a. “I wonder why Dad names all of his cats Bob?” said Chris.

b. “I wonder why Dad names all of his cats Bob.” said Chris.

c. “I wonder why Dad names all of his cats Bob,” said Chris.

9. a. The officer asked us whether we had seen the accident.

b. The officer asked us whether we had seen the accident?

c. The officer asked us, “Whether we had seen the accident.”

10. a. The police officer asked the suspect, “where were you on October twenty-eighth at four in the afternoon?”

b. The police officer asked the suspect, “Where were you on October twenty-eighth at four in the afternoon?”

c. The police officer asked the suspect, “Where were you on October twenty-eighth at four in the afternoon?”.

Answers

1. b.

2. a.

3. b.

4. a.

5. a.

6. c.

7. a.

8. c.

9. a.

10. b.

TIP

Look for examples of quotation marks in anything you read. When you find them, check to see if they’ve been used correctly.