CHAPTER 10

Quotation Marks

Seeing What You Know

Insert quotation marks or underlines as needed in the following sentences. One sentence does not need quotation marks. Then read the explanations below.

1. The mechanic said, Your car needs more than a tune-up.

2. To tell you the truth, said my husband, I’m thinking of quitting my job.

3. My sister called to say that she needed heart surgery.4. According to The Book of Answers, the most widely

sung song in the English-speaking world is Happy Birthday to You.

Quotation Marks( )” “

There are two main uses of quotation

marks:

1. To set off the EXACT words of a

speaker or writer.

2. To set off the titles of short works.

QUOTATION MARKS TO SET OFF THE WORDS OF A SPEAKER OR WRITER

Use quotation marks to show the exact words of a speaker or writer.

NOT NEEDEDJennifer said that she enjoyed shopping for clothes.

NEEDEDJennifer said, “I enjoy shopping for clothes.”

Direct and Indirect Quotations

Often we communicate someone’s spoken or written thoughts without repeating the exact words used. We quote indirectly by putting the message into our own words. Such indirect quotations do not require quotation marks. The word that often signals an indirect quotation.

The following example shows how the same material could be handled as either a direct or an indirect quotation.

Direct QuotationKeshia said, “If I pass all my exams, I will graduate

this June.”(These are Keshia’s exact words, so they are put in

quotation marks.)

Indirect QuotationKeshia said that if she passes all her exams, she will

graduate this June.(These are not Keshia’s exact words. No quotation

marks are used.)

Using Punctuation with Quotation Marks ()” “

A comma sets off the quoted part from the rest of

the sentence.

Periods at the end of the quote go INSIDE the

quotation marks.

Commas that come at the end of a quoted section

go inside the quotation marks.

EXAMPLE: “If the mall opens at nine,” David said,

“we can eat breakfast there.”

EXAMPLE: Ryan explained, “The skis are on sale

until tomorrow.”

Incorrect: “If it rains”, said Connie, “the ball game will

be canceled”.

Correct: “If it rains,” said Connie, “the ball game will

be canceled.”

Capitalization

EXAMPLE: Martha explained, “The flower shop is

my favorite store to visit.”

Every quotation begins with a capital letter.

EXAMPLE: “Bands play music every Wednesday

night,” Jason said, “especially in the new coffee

shop.”

When a quotation is split, the second part does

not begin with a capital letter unless it is

another complete sentence.

Practice 2 ( Page: 115)

Turn each of the following indirect quotations into a direct quotation. You willhave to change some of the words as well as add quotation marks. The first one isdone for you as an example.

2. Coach Hodges told Lori that she had played an outstanding game.

Coach Hodges told Lori, “You played an outstanding game.”

3. Manuel insisted that his new glasses haven’t improved his vision one bit.

Manuel insisted, “My new glasses haven’t improved my vision one bit.”

4. The detective exclaimed that he knew the murderer’s identity.

The detective exclaimed, “I know the murderer’s identity!”

5. I told Dr. Patton that I hadn’t been to a dentist since high school.

I told Dr. Patt on, “I haven’t been to a dentist since high school.”

Titles

The second main use of quotation marks

is with titles of short works.

With titles of major works we use italics.

If a font with italics is not available, the

titles of long works are underlined.

Example: The bookstore sells Teen Fad magazine

which has the article “Why Tattoos Attract Men.”

Titles

“The Body,” a short story by Stephen King, was later made into the movie Stand By Me.

I remember memorizing Robert Frost’s poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” when I was in eighth grade.

“Jimmy’s World,” an article in the Washington Times about a drug-addicted child, won a Pulitzer Prize, but the story was later proved to be a fake.