Quotation marks, also known as inverted commas, are normally used for quotation, as their American name suggests, or to mark a title (book, film, etc), or to enclose a foreign, technical, or otherwise potentially unfamiliar word. Standard use of these marks encompasses variation: they can be single or double, and may be punctuated differently around stops, depending on local conventions.
Quotation marks can also highlight that a word is being used somehow peculiarly – a writer may wish to indicate irony, inaccuracy, or scepticism, for example; used this way, they’re called scare quotes. In the line: At the party I met a teacher, a journalist, and an ‘artist’, the scare quotes around artist act as a distancing device, probably signalling doubt about the person’s credentials as an artist. The effect is similar to the Irish phrase mar dhea.
The Oxford Manual of Style says scare quotes may serve ‘to hold up a word for inspection, as if by tongs, providing a cordon sanitaire between the word and the writer’s finer sensibilities’. It’s a technique that quickly wears thin, so style guides sometimes caution against its excessive use. And there’s a related problem: non-standard emphasis.
Hi, I am trying to insert Inverted Commas around all the numeric values within a comma seperated string / variable. 1111,2222,3333,4444 I would like it to be: '1111','2222','3333','4444' Note - This string could have a differing amount of numeric values each time the variable is. When you are writing, inverted commas or speech marks go before and after direct speech, surrounding what was said. 'I'm hungry,' she complained. If another character replies, use another set of. Quotation Marks and Direct Quotations 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 (' '). ‘Inverted commas can be single – ‘x’ – or double – “x”. They are also known as quotation marks, speech marks, or quotes.’ –Oxford. In American English, inverted commas are called quotation marks. In British English, we use single marks more often than the double marks. We use inverted commas: 1.
Sometimes people use quotation marks to stress a word or phrase, and this clashes with the general understanding of how the marks – and scare quotes – are properly used. In a comment to my recent article on the use of apostrophes, Kristen said she found this habit troublesome, offering the example ‘fresh’ fish, which inadvertently casts doubt on the freshness of the fish – the very opposite impression to what’s intended.
If you saw a window sign for ‘homemade’ stew or a label promising ‘delicious’ waffles, would the punctuation affect how you imagine the food? What about a cosmetic product that’s ‘good’ for your hair, or a claim that a service is ‘free’? Are you feeling trustful?
Lexicographer Grant Barrett endorses the use of quotation marks for emphasis, saying you have to go out of your way to misread them. But while the intention behind these messages is surely straightforward and sincere, people can be fussy about this sort of thing. And sometimes the connotations are strongly negative, as in ‘confidential’ surveys and a name you can ‘trust’.
Nor is emphasis the only reason for wayward quotation marks: the motivation for their use is sometimes more mysterious. A couple of years ago Orin looked at the difficulties quotation marks pose for computers processing language, but people can be stumped by them too. What are we to make of a bouzoukia from ‘Greece’, a basket for your ‘shopping’, or ‘sexy’ artificial trees? I’d be ‘very interested’ to hear your thoughts. No, ‘really’!
Email this PostSingle vs. double quotes — knowing which one to use can be tricky!
Do you know when to use single quotation marks? What about double quotation marks?
I’ve talked/ranted about the rampant abuse of quotation marks before, but today I want to dig a little deeper and explain the difference between single quotes vs. double quotes.
For the purposes of this blog post, I’m only going to be talking about Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) rules as that’s what myGeneral Proofreading course is built around.
Is the correct use of quotation marks as important to you as it is to me? Keep reading to learn when to use single quotes vs. double quotes.
What is the difference between single quotation marks and double quotation marks?
You’re probably wondering “How do I know if I should use single or double quotes?”
Whether or not you should use single quotation marks depends a lot on what dialect of English your client wants their document to be in: British English or American English.
It’s pretty easy if you’re writing for an American audience; just use double quotation marks the majority of the time except for a few exceptions that I will explain below!
On the other hand, if you’re writing for an audience more familiar with British English, single quotation marks will be more widely used. However, they still use double quotation marks in some cases as well; for example, newspapers will often use double quotes for quotations.
Confused yet? 😉
Fun fact: British people also call quotation marks inverted commas!
What are single quotation marks used for?
According to the CMOS, single quotation marks are used for a quotation within a quotation.
Example: “Are you crazy?” said Caitlin. “When you said ‘Commas don’t matter,’ I died a little inside.”
Note: If your audience uses British English, switch the double and single quotation marks around. That is, use single outer, double inner quotation marks for a quote within a quote.
Example: ‘Are you crazy?’ said Caitlin. ‘When you said “Commas don’t matter,” I died a little inside.’
What about if you have a quotation inside a quotation inside another quotation? In American English, the order would be double, single, then double again.
Example: “Is he crazy?” said Caitlin. “When you said ‘Mark said “Commas don’t matter,”’ I died a little inside.”
It’s a maze, right? In the last example, it might be better to just rewrite the sentence.
Other uses of single quotation marks that CMOS does not recommend are as follows:
- Use single quotation marks in headlines
- Use single quotation marks for words not being used for their meaning
- Use single quotation marks for emphasis (CMOS recommends using italics for emphasis; occasionally quotation marks may be used depending on the context.)
These rules may apply if you are using a different style guide that recommends them.
What are double quotes used for?
Quotation marks for dialogue
Use quotation marks to signal that someone is speaking.
Single Or Double Inverted Commas
Quotation marks for titles of works
Use quotation marks for titles of songs, short stories, short poems, magazine or newspaper articles, and chapter titles.
Quotation marks as scare quotes
Double Inverted Commas Examples
This one gets slightly trickier. Here’s what The Chicago Manual of Style states in Rule 7.57:
Quotation marks are often used to alert readers that a term is used in a nonstandard (or slang), ironic, or other special sense. Such scare quotes imply “This is not my term” or “This is not how the term is usually applied.” Like any such device, scare quotes lose their force and irritate readers if overused.
For examples of each of these uses, head over to my discussion/rant about quotation mark abuse.
Placement of quotation marks in relation to other closing punctuation
One thing that confuses a lot of people is where to place quotation marks in relation to other closing punctuation.
Some of the confusion probably arises because, once again, British and Americans do it differently! Why can’t they just do it the same way we do in the good ol’ US of A? 😉 LOL
So let me break down, from an American English point of view, whether the following punctuation marks go inside or outside the quotation marks:
- Commas and periods – These go inside closing quotation marks, regardless of whether the quotation marks are double or single.
- Question marks and exclamation points – These marks should be placed inside quotation marks only when it is part of the quoted sentence.
- Colons and semicolons – These go outside closing quotation marks.
In British English, only the punctuation points that appeared in the original material are included inside the quotation marks.
Source:Chicago Manual of Style
Test Your Knowledge of Single vs. Double Quotes
Put your knowledge to the test with this mini proofreading quiz!
Our Take
What do you think? Have you mastered the difference between single and double quotation marks now? Did you enjoy the mini proofreading quiz?
Are there any other punctuation marks that give you trouble? Or any that drive you crazy when you see people misuse them? Let me know in the comments below!
Above all, avoid using unnecessary quotation marks!
Your Turn
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