Introduction

Quotation marks are inverted commas that report a fact from another source

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They look like this: " "

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By including quotation marks, you let the reader know that these are not your own words.

 

They always come in pairs: one at the beginning and one at the end of what was said!

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Rule 1

If the quote sounds like speech, you should follow speech mark rules as usual.

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For example:

• Once, in a letter, F. Scott Fitzgerald confessed, "I love her, and that's the beginning and end of everything."

 

 

Rule 2

If the quote:

• blends into the rest of the sentence

• is a title

• is used for emphasis

• is explaining a word

• scare quotes (when the writer thinks the word is odd or inappropriate)

then skip the punctuation before the quotation mark.

 

For example:

• John Nugent from Empire said that Zootopia was "an engaging animation for all ages."

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• Time Magazine claimed Fitzgerald's "literary trousers are longer, less bell-bottomed, but still precious."
   

• My favourite series is "Ever After High".
  
  
   

• I've never read "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" but I've seen the movie.
   

• I hate the word "February", I always spell it wrong!
   

• To play "legato" means to play smoothly.

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• He likes to call himself a "genius".