Quotation mark facts for kids

Quotation marks, also called inverted commas or just quotes, are special marks used in writing. They always come in pairs: one to open the quote and one to close it. You'll see them as either single marks (‘…’) or double marks (“…”).

These marks help us show when someone is speaking, or when we are sharing words taken exactly from another source. They can also show that a word is being used in a special or unusual way.

Sometimes, quotation marks look different depending on the font. Some are "straight" like on a typewriter, while others are "curly" and look more like tiny 6s and 9s. The closing single quote mark looks a lot like an apostrophe, but they are used for different things!

How We Use Quotation Marks

Quotation marks have several important jobs in writing.

Showing What Someone Said

The most common use for quotation marks is to show when someone is speaking directly.

• In the United States, people usually use double quotation marks: "Good morning, Frank," said HAL.
• In the United Kingdom, both single and double marks are used: ‘Good morning, Frank,’ said HAL.

It's important to always use the same type of mark (single or double) for both the opening and closing of a quote.

Quotes Inside Quotes

What if someone is quoting another person while they are speaking? Then you use the other type of quotation mark for the inner quote.

• Frank reported that ‘HAL said, "Good morning, Dave,"’.
• Frank reported that "HAL said, ‘Good morning, Dave,’".

You just switch between single and double marks to show who is saying what.

Long Quotes

If a quote goes on for many paragraphs, you usually don't use quotation marks. Instead, the text is often set apart as a "block quote" (indented or in a different style).

However, if you do use quotation marks for a long quote, you put an opening mark at the start of each new paragraph of the quote. But you only put a closing mark at the very end of the last paragraph of the quote.

Interrupting a Quote

Sometimes, you might interrupt a quote with words like "he said" or "she asked." You close the quote before the interruption and open it again after.

• “HAL,” noted Frank, “said that everything was going extremely well.”

When NOT to Use Quotes

It's important not to use quotation marks when you are just telling what someone said in your own words (paraphrasing). This is called "indirect speech."

• Incorrect: HAL said that “Everything was going extremely well.”
• Correct: HAL said that everything was going extremely well.

You only use quotation marks for the exact words someone said.

Showing Irony or Special Meaning

Sometimes, quotation marks are used to show that a word is being used in a special, unusual, or even ironic way. This means the writer might not really mean what the word usually means.

• He shared his "wisdom" with me. (This suggests his advice wasn't actually wise.)
• The lunch lady plopped a glob of "food" onto my tray. (This suggests it wasn't very good food.)

These are sometimes called "scare quotes." When people say them out loud, they might even make "air quotes" with their fingers!

Highlighting a Word Itself

Quotation marks (or italics) can also show that you are talking about a word as a word, not about what it means.

• "Cheese" is derived from a word in Old English. (Here, we're talking about the word "cheese," not the food.)
• The letter ‘o’ is one of the most used in the English language.

Titles of Shorter Works

Quotation marks are often used for the titles of shorter works, like:

• Short stories: Arthur C. Clarke’s “The Sentinel”
• Book chapters: The first chapter of 3001: The Final Odyssey is “Comet Cowboy”
• Songs: David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”

Usually, a whole book or album title is italicized, but a song or chapter inside it gets quotation marks.

• Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
• Dahl’s “Taste” in Completely Unexpected Tales

Nicknames

Quotation marks can also be used to show a nickname that is part of a person's full name.

• Nat "King" Cole
• Miles "Tails" Prower

Incorrect Use for Emphasis

Sometimes, people incorrectly use quotation marks to try and make words stand out, instead of using italics or bold text. This can be confusing because it looks like you're using the word in a special or ironic way, even if you don't mean to!

• For sale: "fresh" fish could accidentally mean the fish isn't actually fresh.

How Punctuation Works with Quotes

There are two main ways to use punctuation (like periods and commas) with quotation marks: "American style" and "British style."

American Style

In the United States, commas and periods almost always go inside the closing quotation mark.

• “Carefree,” in general, means “free from care or anxiety.”
• “Today,” said Cinderella, “I feel free from care and anxiety.”

Question marks and exclamation marks go inside if they are part of the quote, and outside if they apply to the whole sentence. Colons and semicolons always go outside.

• Did he say, “Good morning, Dave”? (Question for the whole sentence)
• No, he said, “Where are you, Dave?” (Question is part of the quote)
• “Hello, world,” she said.

British Style

In the United Kingdom, punctuation marks only go inside the quotation marks if they were part of the original quoted material. Otherwise, they go outside.

• “Carefree”, in general, means “free from care or anxiety”.
• “Today”, said former Prime Minister Tony Blair, “I feel free from care and anxiety.” (If the comma wasn't part of his original speech)

The rules for question marks, exclamation marks, colons, and semicolons are generally the same as in American style.

Typing Quotation Marks

On most computer keyboards, you'll find "straight" quotation marks (like " and '). These are leftovers from typewriters. However, most computer programs have a "smart quotes" feature that automatically changes these straight marks into the "curly" typographic ones (‘ ’ and “ ”) as you type.

Here's how you can type the curly quotation marks on different computers:

History of Quotation Marks

In the past, writers didn't always use quotation marks. Sometimes, they would just say who was speaking. During the Renaissance, quoted text was often written in a different style of letters (like italic instead of regular).

Quotation marks started to appear in printed books around the mid-1500s. In some older books, especially long quotes, the quotation mark would be repeated at the beginning of every single line! This practice eventually stopped, but it's why long quotes sometimes have an empty space (indent) on the left side.

Quotation marks began to be used for direct speech around the early 1700s. By the mid-1700s, single quotation marks were commonly used to show direct speech.

Images for kids

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  Guillemets are another type of quotation mark, used in some languages like French.

• 

  This image shows how an apostrophe and angular quotation marks can look different.

• 

  Sometimes, quotation marks can create extra space around them.

• 

  Another look at guillemets, showing how they sit on the line of text.

• 

  An old typewriter, which used "straight" quotation marks.

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  A type case, used for setting metal type in old printing presses.

See also

In Spanish: Comillas para niños