Tutorial for Quotation Marks
What are they?
Quotation marks always come in pairs: one at the beginning and one at the end of a direct quotation. Use quotation marks to set off a quoted or highlighted word or words from the rest of your text.
How to find and correct them
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Use quotation marks around direct quotations from another writer or speaker.
Incorrect
As poet Robert Frost said, Words exist in the mouth, not books.
Correct
As poet Robert Frost said, “Words exist in the mouth, not books.”
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Use single quotation marks around a quotation inside another quotation. Put double quotation marks around the larger passage that you are quoting.
Incorrect
When I heard “This year’s winner is Grace Talusan,” I couldn’t believe that I was chosen as the winner, she said of her recent award.
Correct
“When I heard ‘This year’s winner is Grace Talusan,’ I couldn’t believe that I was chosen as the winner,” she said of her recent award.
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Put commas and periods inside quotation marks.
Incorrect
When I asked Mom about her heart attack, she said, “I don’t want to talk about it”.
Correct
When I asked Mom about her heart attack, she said, “I don’t want to talk about it.”