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Also, any punctuation otherwise required by the structure of the sentence is placed outside the single quotation marks. Using a period elsewhere inside quotation marks is correct if your quoted material includes multiple sentences. For example, if you’re quoting a passage that already features a quote, use double quotation marks for the main quote and single quotation marks for the quote within a quote. In American English, single quotation marks are used only for quotes that appear inside other quotes. One of the most common points of confusion with quotes is when to use single versus double quotation marks. The quotation can be introduced with a transitional phrase followed by a comma, helping separate the spoken words from the rest of the sentence. You can skip the comma before or after the quote for short quotes or phrases within a sentence if they flow naturally. Here, commas distinguish the spoken words from the rest of the sentence. This usage can be confused with ironic or altered-usage quotation, sometimes with unintended humor. Quotation marks can also set off a nickname embedded in an actual name, or a false or ironic title embedded in an actual title; for example, Nat "King" Cole, Frank "Chairman of the Board" Sinatra, or Simone Rizzo "Sam the Plumber" DeCavalcante. Quotation marks, rather than italics, are generally used for the titles of shorter works. A publisher's or author's style may take precedence over regional general preferences. When this practice was abandoned, the empty margin remained, leaving the modern form of indented block quotation.
- In English, when a quotation follows other writing on a line of text, a space precedes the opening quotation mark unless the preceding symbol, such as an em dash, requires that there be no space.
- Americans tend to apply quotations when signifying doubt of veracity (sarcastically or seriously), to imply another meaning to a word or to imply a cynical take on a paraphrased quotation, without punctuation at all.
- Until then, literal quotations had been highlighted or not at the author's discretion.
- A period can be used to introduce a block quotation when the introductory text stands on its own as a complete sentence.
- French news sites such as Libération, Les Échos and Le Figaro do not add manual spacing, leaving it up to localization and the browser to space the guillemets properly.
- When quoted text is interrupted, such as with the phrase he said, a closing quotation mark is used before the interruption, and an opening quotation mark after.
What are quotation marks?
The American style is used by most newspapers, publishing houses, and style guides in the United States and, to a lesser extent, Canada as well. Some American style guides specific to certain specialties also prefer the British style. Hart's Rules and the Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors call the British style "new" quoting. Both systems have the same rules regarding question marks, exclamation points, colons, and semicolons.- Although not generally common in the Netherlands any more, double angle (guillemet) quotation marks are still sometimes used in Belgium.
- Such insertion of continuation quotation marks was rigidly maintained, even at a word hyphenation break.
- While American style has periods and commas going inside single and double quotation marks, question marks follow logic.
- To indicate the measurement correctly, place the marks directly after the number with no space.
- Use a semicolon inside quotation marks when it’s part of the quoted material.
- In addition to being standard for second level quotes, guillemet quotes are sometimes used as first level quotes in headings and titles, but almost never for ordinary text in paragraphs.
