When should quotation marks be used in a sentence?

Use an indirect quotation (or paraphrase) when you merely need to summarize key incidents or details of the text. Use direct quotations when the author you are quoting has coined a term unique to her or his research and relevant within your own paper.

Does a quotation mark go before or after a semicolon?

The general rule is that commas and periods should be inside the quotation marks at all times, while all other forms of punctuation, such as question marks, colons, semicolons, and exclamation points, should be outside the quotation marks, unless they were contained in the original quotation.

Does punctuation go inside quotation marks UK?

Commas and Periods Within Quotation Marks American English puts commas and periods inside the quotation marks. The UWSC says that American people write it “this way.”

Does a question mark go before or after quotations?

Place a question mark or exclamation point within closing quotation marks if the punctuation applies to the quotation itself. Place the punctuation outside the closing quotation marks if the punctuation applies to the whole sentence. Phillip asked, “Do you need this book?”

What are the 3 rules for using quotations?

Quotation marks and other punctuation marks In the United States, the rule of thumb is that commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks, and colons and semicolons (dashes as well) go outside: “There was a storm last night,” Paul said.

Do you put a comma before a quote?

As a general rule, you should use a comma to introduce quoted material or dialogue. That’s because in most types of dialogue, the quoted material stands apart from the surrounding text. In grammatical terms, it’s “syntactically independent.”

How do you use quotation marks inside quotation marks?

Rule: Use single quotation marks inside double quotation marks when you have a quotation within a quotation. Example: Bobbi told me, “Delia said, ‘This will never work. ‘ ” Notice that what Delia said was enclosed in single quotation marks.

Is the comma before or after the quotation marks?

When a comma or period is needed after a quotation, publishers in the United States typically put the punctuation mark before the closing quotation mark. The reason for this convention is to improve the appearance of the text.

Where do you put quotation marks in a question?

If you quote a question, put the question mark inside the quotation marks. This rule makes good sense; it distinguishes a quoted question from a quotation embedded in a question.

Do you put a comma after a question mark in quotes?

In cases when a question mark is used, there is no need to use a comma as well; instead, the attributive tag should come immediately after the closing quotation marks. Consider the example below: “Do you want to come to the movies with us?”, Mary asked. “Do you want to come to the movies with us?” Mary asked.

How do you write quotation marks?

Single quotation marks on Windows Press-and-hold the ALT key and then type 0145 for the opening single quotation mark and ALT followed by 0146 for the closing single quotation mark.

Does a period go before or after a quotation mark?

Notes Commas and periods always precede the concluding quotation mark. In American English the period is written before the ending quotation mark. In British version of English, the period is written after the ending quotation marks. In British style, only punctuation marks that are part of the quote are included within the quotation marks.

Should you use colon or comma before quotation marks?

Introducing the quoted material: when to use a comma, colon, period, or no punctuation at all. Comma. The comma is the mark most frequently used to introduce quoted material. Colon. A colon should be used when the text introducing the quoted material could stand as a sentence on its own. Period. A period can be used to introduce a block quotation when the introductory text stands on its own as a complete sentence. No punctuation

Would a comma goes before or after a quotation mark?

American English mainly uses the comma before the closing quotation mark, whereas the comma goes outside or after it in British English. Apparently enough, these punctuation conventions also extend to other countries, such that AmE rules predominate in Canada and BrE in Australia.

Are commas supposed to go after or before a quotation?

That said, a comma after a quotation, be it before or after the closing quotation mark, is only necessary when the quotation is followed by an indirect or nonrestrictive remark, when the quote is split halfway, or when the quote appears either in a compound or reversed-order complex sentence structure, notwithstanding the English variant used.