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Punctuating Quotations
Writing Help from the PhraseBook for Writing Papers and Research in English
'Single' or "double"?
Quotation marks can be single or double. They are written in the pattern 6-9 for single quotes and 66-99 for double quotes, for example:
| Examples |
|---|
| The Anti-Apartheid Movement campaigned for 'One man, one vote'. |
| The American Civil Rights Movement campaigned for "One man, one vote." |
You can use either single or double quotation marks, though you should of course be consistent. Your choice also depends on normal usage for your subject, journal or publisher. Generally, British English uses single quotation marks, and American English double quotation marks.
'"Quotes" within quotes'
For quotes within quotes, use double quotation marks if you normally use single quotation marks, and single quotation marks if you normally use double quotation marks, for example:
| Examples |
|---|
| The Anti-Apartheid campaigner stated, 'We will not rest until we achieve "One man, one vote" in South Africa'. |
| The Civil Rights campaigner stated, "We will not rest until we achieve 'One man, one vote' in America." |
Punctuation at the end of quotations
British and American English differ in the position of commas and full stops or periods at the end of quotations. If you are writing in British English, place a full stop or comma inside the closing quotation mark if it is part of the quotation, and outside if it is not. If you are writing in American English, always place a period or comma inside the closing quotation mark. Compare the following examples:
| Comma (British English) |
|---|
| 'Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.' |
| It was all very well to say 'Drink me', but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry. |
| Although the Anti-Apartheid and American Civil Rights Movements campaigned for 'One man, one vote', their slogan today would be 'One person, one vote'. |
| Comma (American English) |
| "It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task...that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." |
| It was all very well to say "Drink me," but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry. |
| Although the Anti-Apartheid and American Civil Rights Movements campaigned for "One man, one vote," their slogan today would be "One person, one vote." |
In both British and American English, always place semicolons and colons outside the end of quotes:
| Semicolon and colon |
|---|
| The American Declaration of Independence includes 'the pursuit of happiness'; the Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes 'the right to rest and leisure' and the right to holidays with pay. |
| 'To be or not to be,' said Hamlet: 'that is the question.' |
In both American and British English, place a dash, question mark, exclamation mark (GB) or exclamation point (US) inside the final quotation mark if it is part of the quotation, and outside if it is not:
| Exclamation mark or exclamation point |
|---|
| Employees soon understood the meaning of 'downsizing' -- redundancy. |
| The film version of 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' starred Elizabeth Taylor. |
| What can we say about Virginia Woolf's 'To the Lighthouse'? |
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