Quotation Marks
Table of Contents
A Note about Countries
Correct Examples
Quoted Words First
Quoted Words Second
Quoted Words Split
Interruptions and Fading
Getting Fancy
Quoting Fragments
Single vs. Double Marks and Nesting
Apologetic Quotes
Smart Quotes, aka Stupid Computers
A Note About Countries
I am Canadian. I get to choose the best of both American and British. Most is the same for both; I've indicated where they differ. Most people recommend choosing a country and sticking with it, or asking your client / publisher. British is usually clearer for the reader, so that's what I choose.
The spaces are exaggerated for technical reasons. Sometimes, it wouldn't do nice, normal spaces. They should be all the same size.
Correct Examples
I'll start this with the correct examples, as a summary. Further explanations and clarifications follow.
Quoted Words First
- "It is a nice day," he said.
- "Is it a nice day?" he asked.
- "Have a nice day!" he emphasized.
Quoted Words Second
- He said, "It is a nice day."
- He said the following: "It is a nice day."
- He asked, "Is it a nice day?"
- He emphasized, "Have a nice day!"
Quoted Words Split
- "It is a nice day," he said, "and you should enjoy it."
- "It is a nice day," he said. He turned to face me. "You should enjoy it."
Interruptions and Fading
- "It is a nice --" he said, before he was interrupted.
- He rushed out, "Have a nice --"
- "I am so tired that I..." he said, and fell asleep.
- Before falling asleep, he managed to say, "I am so tired that I..."
- "I think I'll have a nap...." he said, and fell asleep.
- Before falling asleep, he managed to say, "I think I'll have a nap...."
- "What did you give me...?" he said, and the sleeping drug took hold.
- "Don't drug me...!" he said, and fell asleep.
Getting Fancy
- He growled, "Hello."
- He growled. "Hello."
- He said, "Hello?"
- He said, "Hello"?
Quoting Fragments
- Type in the following: ".TXT." (American and British.)
- Type in the following: ".TXT".(Alternate British, different meaning.)
- "Hello", "sky", and "growled" are important words in this document.
Single vs Double Marks and Nesting
- He said, "She said, 'It is raining.' "
- He said, "She said, 'George told me, "It is raining." ' "
(Ignore the spaces. All the quotation marks should be smushed-up next to the quoted words. Periods stick to the left.)
- The word is 'preposterous'.
- There is something 'strange' about him.
Can also use italics:
- The word is preposterous.
- There is something strange about him.
Quoted Words First
Intermediate steps are prefaced with an 'X'.
First, decide who is saying what, then punctuate and capitalize the character's words as if they stood alone. Put quotation marks around everything the character said, including the punctuation.
X "It is a nice day." he said.
This has two periods -- one at the end of the character's sentence, and one at the end of the author's sentence. Each sentence can only have one period, so demote the character's period to a comma.
"It is a nice day," he said.
Done. Note that he said. is not capitalized.
If the character's words end with anything other than a period, do not demote to a comma.
"Is it a nice day?" he asked.
"Have a nice day!" he emphasized.
Quoted Words Second
Again, begin by deciding who says what, then punctuate and capitalize the character's words as if they stood alone. Put quotation marks around everything the character said, including the punctuation.
X He said "It is a nice day."
There must always be a pause between speakers, so put a comma (or a colon) after the author's words.
He said, "It is a nice day."
Done. Note that there are two capital letters and only one period.
Colons are rarely used for this, but can add extra effect.
He said the following: "It is a nice day."
The system still applies if the character's words end with something other than a period.
He asked, "Is it a nice day?"
He emphasized, "Have a nice day!"
Quoted Words Split
Splitting quoted words can be effective, but it must be done in the right place. Slip the author's words in where the character would normally pause.
As always, begin by deciding who says what, then punctuate and capitalize the character's words as if they stood alone. Put quotation marks around everything the character said, including the punctuation.
X "It is a nice day, and you should enjoy it."
X "It is a nice day. You should enjoy it."
Stick the author's words after the pause mark. Remember to pause (comma) after the author's words, before the second set from the character.
"It is a nice day," he said, "and you should enjoy it."
If the character's words include a full stop, there are two sentences overall.
"It is a nice day," he said. "You should enjoy it."
If the author says more between the character's sentences, the author's words are part of the first sentence, and the character's second sentence is on its own.
"It is a nice day, " he said. He turned to face me. "You should enjoy it."
Interruptions and Fading
If the character is interrupted, change his period (or comma) to a long (or double) dash.
"It is a nice --" he said, before he was interrupted.
He rushed out, "Have a nice --"
If the character fades off, change his period (or comma) to three dots (an ellipsis).
"I am so tired that I..." he said, and fell asleep.
Before falling asleep, he managed to say, "I am so tired that I..."
If the character fades off, but has finished his sentence, change his period (or comma) to four dots -- three dots plus a period. If it's a question mark or exclamation mark, use that as the fourth dot.
"I think I'll have a nap...." he said, and fell asleep.
Before falling asleep, he managed to say, "I think I'll have a nap...."
"What did you give me...?" he said, and the sleeping drug took hold.
"Don't drug me...!" he said, and fell asleep.
Well, the last one, the sentence and thought is probably complete, so maybe the three dots aren't appropriate, but it was the best I could come up with.
Getting Fancy
Sometimes, combining or separating the author's and character's words into one sentence, or separating them into two, can affect the interpretation. Likewise, putting a question mark or exclamation mark inside or outside the quotation marks makes a difference.
He growled, "Hello."
He growled. "Hello."
The first one, he growls out the word. The second one, he gets the growling over with before he talks.
He said, "Hello?"
He said, "Hello"?
The first one, he is calling out a question. "Hello? Can anybody hear me?" The second one, the author is asking if the character really said the word "Hello".
Quoting Fragments
This is where the Americans and the British differ.
The British maintain that, if the final punctuation is not part of the character's sentence, it stays outside the quotation marks.
The Americans insist that final commas and periods always go inside (to the left of) the quotation marks. American colons and semi-colons always go outside.
Americans follow the British pattern for question marks, exclamation marks, and long dashes -- following the logic of the sentence. The whole reason for the difference is that, back in the days of movable type, the American typesetters decided that decided that tiny things like periods and commas had to be between the quotation marks and the text so they wouldn't get lost or broken.
American usage gets especially confusing with computer manuals.
Type in the following: ".TXT." (American and British.)
Brits would type in two periods, one on either side of the letters. The Americans would not know whether the second period is part of what they should type, or part of the author's sentence.
If you wanted a Brit to type only one period, you would use:
Type in the following: ".TXT".
Note that only one period is needed at the end of the sentence. The author borrows the character's.
Another example of this fragment thing is a list of quotations.
"Hello", "sky", and "growled" are important words in this document.
This is British usage. Americans would put the commas inside the quotation marks, despite the fact that the commas aren't part of the quotation.
Single vs. Double Marks
The British used to use single quotation marks around quoted text. Near as I can tell, the British now use double marks around quoted text.
Both countries use single marks if there is an extra layer of quotation.
If it gets deeper, the single and double marks alternate.
- He said, "She said, 'It is raining.' "
- He said, "She said, 'George told me, "It is raining." ' "
Note that both sets of marks get closed, just like brackets. Also, each sentence starts with its own capital letter, but there is only one period.
Apologetic Quotes
Some people use single quotation marks to highlight a single word.
The word is 'preposterous'. (Note the period on the end -- I'm using British conventions.) Some references say to use single marks here, others say to use double, others say use italics.
There is something 'strange' about him. The author isn't quite sure if 'strange' is the right word. Some experts like this, others say the author should find the right word and get rid of the quotation marks. (These are called apologetic quotation marks.)
Smart Quotes, aka Stupid Computers
Quotes come in pairs: opening and closing. You can use generic, symmetrical splotches (which I prefer), or you can use 66 to open and 99 to close.
Computers these days think they know better than we do, and if you haven't disabled so-called "smart quotes", they'll convert them for you, getting it right for straight typing but not for editing. What's even better is that not all computers show those symbols properly.
So turn off the smart quotes and use the generic ones. It's easier.
Apostrophes, which look a lot like single-quotes, are either generic or are 9.