Fierce Fifth Graders

How to Use Quotation Marks

 

Quotation marks are used to report what someone said or wrote.

 

Quotation marks come in pairs. You need one set of quotation marks at the beginning of the dialogue or quote and you need one at the end.

 

Quotation marks surround dialogue/conversation:

 

                “The movie was amazing,” Sarah said.

                William said, “This exercise is easy.”

                Jack whined, “I’m tired!”

 

Punctuation

 

Capitalize the first letter of the quote when it is complete.

 

                Ex. “The movie was amazing,” Sarah said.

 

Do not use a capital letter when the quote is a fragment or only a piece of the original sentence.

 

                Ex. He stated that "the boy was happy" even if he got hurt.

 

When the sentence begins with the quote, put the comma inside the quotation marks.

 

                Ex.  “I am scared of dogs, ” William confessed.

 

 

When the quote is at the end of the sentence, put the comma outside the quotation marks and the period inside.

 

                Ex. Jane whispered, “Please be quiet.” 

 

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.

 

              Ex.  Phillip asked, "Do you need this book?"

                      Does Dr. Lim always say to her students, "You must work harder"?

 

It is very important to use precise verbs to describe the way the people talked. Click here for a complete list of synonyms you can use.