How To Use Commas And Quotation Marks

Quotation marks are for when you want to use someone else s words in your writing.

How to use commas and quotation marks. Commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks in american english. Less commonly single quotation marks are used in place of parentheses in which case the translation is not set off with commas. How to use the comma with quotation marks in american english if you re using quotation marks to show a quotation put the mark inside the closing quotation mark. British style uses single quotes for initial quotations then double quotes for quotations within the initial quotation. How to use quotation marks.

The short fellow asked how s the weather up there. The placement of question marks with quotation marks follows logic. The american style places commas and periods inside the quotation marks even if they are not in the original material. She asked will you still be my friend the question will you still be my friend. Here is a brief guide to using quotation marks correctly.

Comma goes inside you when the context calls for a comma at the end of material enclosed in quotation marks the comma should be placed inside the quotation marks. Use a comma after verbs of communication introducing a quotation and between split quotations. Do you agree with the saying all s fair in love and war. In this case it is necessary to set the translation off with commas. You ll never be able to pass this course if you don t start working hard now the professor told me.

He said that he hoped that i would be there soon here the use of quotation marks is wrong because the quotation marks are only used to mark the speaker s exact words. We should study the report on discrimination in the workplace which was written by the personnel office. Strunk white gives this example. Dashes colons and semicolons almost always go outside the quotation marks. What would you do i asked if money didn t matter the king shouted let the games.

British style places unquoted periods and commas outside the quotation marks. Study the following examples to help you avoid the most common mistakes. Use a comma after verbs of communication such as asked or said when they come right before a quote. Using quotation marks is essential in academic writing especially when you re using somebody else s words failing to show that you re quoting a source could even be seen as plagiarism. If a question is within the quoted material a question mark should be placed inside the quotation marks.