Use quotation marks to quote what someone has said or written.
- Regina said, “I can’t wait until lunch break.”
- The CEO said that the hackers used “super unscrupulous” techniques.
Single quotation marks are used inside of quotations.
- Dan said, “I can’t believe John bumped into me and said, ‘Watch where you’re going!’ It was his fault.”
Use quotation marks to show that a word or phrase is being used in an irregular or ironic way.
- A million dollars is a lot of “bank.”
Use quotation marks to mention or discuss a word or phrase.
- The word “great” has only one syllable.
- She spelled “magnanimous” wrong and was eliminated from the spelling bee.
Quotation marks with other punctuation marks.
Commas and periods always go inside closing quotation marks.
- “I’ll be back later today,” he said.
- He said, “I’ll be back later today.”
Colons and semicolons always go outside closing quotation marks.
- Emily hates running and calls it “something to be avoided”; her twin sister, Ruth, loves running and calls it her “special morning ritual.”
When exclamation points and question marks are part of the quotation, they go inside closing quotation marks.
- “Do you know what time it is?” she asked.
- He said, “I’ve never heard anyone rap that fast!”
When exclamation points and question marks are part of the surrounding text, they go outside closing quotation marks.
- My boss just said, “You’re being promoted next week”!
- Who said, “Organic computers will be the next big thing”?