What's the difference between single and double quotation marks?

General Usage Rules

In America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the general rule is that double quotes are used to denote direct speech. Single quotes are used to enclose a quote within a quote, a quote within a headline, or a title within a quote.

What are the single quotation marks used for?

Single quotation marks are also known as 'quote marks', 'quotes', 'speech marks' or 'inverted commas'. Use them to: show direct speech and the quoted work of other writers. enclose the title of certain works.

When should I use single or double quotation marks?

If you are an American, using quotation marks could hardly be simpler: Use double quotation marks at all times unless quoting something within a quotation, when you use single. It's different in the greater Anglosphere, where they generally use singles in books and doubles in newspapers.

Why do we use single and double quotation marks?

If you need to put a quotation inside your first quotation, use the opposite type of quotation marks to surround it. That's single quotation marks in American English. Double quotation marks can also be used to show sarcasm or to identify words used as words instead of for their meaning.

Are single quotation marks used alone?

Well, it depends. Most authorities agree that if the full stop, comma, question mark or exclamation mark is part of the quotation, then it should go inside the closing quotation mark. There should be no problem with quotations that stand alone but, when they're part of a bigger sentence, you need to take care.

Single or Double Quotation Marks?

Do you use single or double quotation marks to emphasize a word?

Do not use quotation marks to emphasize a word. Just don't. It's wrong. The strength of your words should make any formatting unnecessary, but if you really want to emphasize something, use boldface or italics.

When should you use single quotation marks in Business writing?

Use single quotation marks for quoted material, titles of works, or special terms that appear within a quotation. Examples: She wrote, "I just read Maya Angelou's 'On the Pulse of Morning,' and I loved it." (title of a poem) The blog visitor commented, "The term 'inverted commas' makes no sense." (special term)

What are the 3 rules for using quotations?

Commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks in American English; dashes, colons, and semicolons almost always go outside the quotation marks; question marks and exclamation marks sometimes go inside, sometimes stay outside.

What are the different types of quotation marks?

The use of quotation marks, also called inverted commas, is very slightly complicated by the fact that there are two types: single quotes (` ') and double quotes (" ").

What's a single quote?

Noun. single quote (plural single quotes) A quotation mark, as in She said, 'Go ahead'. An apostrophe, as in Let's do it.

How do you use quotation marks in the UK?

British English uses single quotation marks to indicate quotations or dialogue. The UWSC says, 'This is how British people do it.

Is an apostrophe the same as a single quote?

They are two entirely different punctuation symbols. Single quotes are limited to one real function in written U.S. English, which is to indicate a quotation within a quotation. Apostrophes, on the other hand, are used to denote possessive form and to indicate omission.

What does two quotation marks mean in measurement?

When working with measurements, a single quotation mark (') means feet and a double quotation mark (”) means inches.

Where do single quotation marks go?

Single quotation marks are used for a quote within a quote. ("I knew I wanted to come to WMU when President Dunn said, 'We're committed to your success. '") Although they are usually unnecessary, single quotation marks also can be used in headlines that contain a quote or composition title.

How do you write single quotation marks?

On the keyboard

You can make single quotation marks on most computers by pressing the apostrophe/quotation mark key to the left of ENTER. Double quotation marks are made on most computers by holding SHIFT and pressing the apostrophe/quotation mark key to the left of ENTER.

What are single quotes and double quotes?

General Usage Rules

In America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the general rule is that double quotes are used to denote direct speech. Single quotes are used to enclose a quote within a quote, a quote within a headline, or a title within a quote.

Why are there different types of quotation marks?

In traditional printing, all quotation marks were curly. But typewriter character sets were limited by mechanical constraints and physical space. By replacing the curly opening and closing quotes with ambidextrous straight quotes, two slots became available for other characters.

What are straight quotation marks called?

Straight quotation marks (also known as “dumb” quotation marks) point straight down. You can have double and single quotation marks, and single quotation marks do double duty as apostrophes. (For more on quotation marks, go to Wikipedia.)

What is wrong way to use quotations?

There are many ways to go wrong with quotation marks. They are often used ironically: She ran around with a bunch of “intellectuals.” The quotation marks around “intellectuals” indicate that the writer believes that these are in fact so-called intellectuals, not real intellectuals at all.

How do you properly quote?

What is a direct quotation example?

A direct quotation is a report of the exact words of an author or speaker and is placed inside quotation marks in a written work. For example, Dr. King said, "I have a dream."

What is double quotation marks give example?

Use double quotation marks to set off a direct (word-for-word) quotation. Correct: “I hope you will be here,” he said. Incorrect: He said that he “hoped I would be there.” (The quotation marks are incorrect because hoped I would be there does not state the speaker's exact words.)

What should you use double quotation marks for in Business Writing?

The Uses. Direct quotes require quotation marks. If you want to write exactly what someone said or wrote, you'll need to use double quotations marks to offset the sentence or phrase. Example: My brother said, "We should go to the liquor store and buy some Scotch."

What's the difference between quotation marks and apostrophes?

But I bet you're curious about how they're different, why else would you be here? The main difference between the two is: Quotation marks are used to report speech. An apostrophe is used for making contractions and possession.

What do quotation marks mean in texting?

or '…' ) Quotation marks are used to enclose and set off text that is directly quoted, titles, technical terms, and words or phrases that carry a subtext. USES. Use quotation marks to enclose. •