Quotation Marks

There are two types of quotation marks, single, as in 'quotation,' and double, like this: "Quotation."

What's the difference?

Double quotation marks are more commonly used. Here are their purposes:

1. To enclose a quotation in a piece of text, as in the following: "My goodness," said Lucy. "I've lost my quotation marks."

2. To identify the titles of articles in newspapers, magazines, or books. They are also used to show the titles of poems, songs and short stories, or segments within books. For instance, one might mention that the short "Benny" is by Mordecai Richler.

3. To set off words that the writer is using ironically, as in the following sentence. The "elegant" dress turned out to be badly cut, sloppily sewn, and made of a cheap and coarse material.

4. To set off or differentiate words that are being referred to as words, as in the following sentence. Although the word "patience" sounds like "patients," the two are spelled differently and have different meanings; also, the former noun is non-countable and singular, while the latter is countable and plural.

Single quotation marks are used to enclose a second quotation within the first one, as in this sentence. Lucy shivered as she said, "Although the house was empty, I heard a weird voice say 'Hark!' just as I was going downstairs."

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