Quotation Marks: Rules How to Use Them Correctly

• We use quotation marks with direct quotes, with titles of certain works, to imply alternate meanings, and to write words as words.
• Block quotations are not set off with quotation marks.
• The quoted text is capitalized if you’re quoting a complete sentence and not capitalized if you’re quoting a fragment.
• 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.
• In American English, single quotation marks are used for quotes within quotes.

When to Use Quotation Marks

Quotation marks are for when you want to use someone else’s words in your writing. Let’s say you want to write about something you heard your friend say. You could do it like this:

John said, “I really hate when it’s hot outside.”

You can write about the same thing without using the quotation marks, with a couple of changes:

John said he hated when it was hot outside.

The first sentence contains a direct quote, a quote in which you report the exact words John used. The second sentence contains an indirect quote, which is a paraphrased version of what John said. Quotation marks are used only with direct quotes.

This rule isn’t just for speech. If you’re quoting a written source, you should still put the quote between quotation marks unless you plan to paraphrase it.

Run-in and Block Quotations

Direct quotations come in two different forms: run-in and block. Run-in quotations are shorter and they are formatted the same as the surrounding text. Block quotes, are long quotes that are separated from the surrounding text. Usually, they appear as a separate paragraph (or series of paragraphs) with a different font, a change in the line spacing, or a wider margin. In any case, block quotes don’t need quotation marks to set them off from the remaining text, even though they are direct quotes.

And in case you’re wondering just how long a quote needs to get for it to be a block quote, it varies from one style guide to another. If you have to follow a style guide, you should check it for best practices. If you don’t have to follow a style guide, set your own rule (like five lines of text makes a block quotation), and stick to it.

Quotation Mark Rules

The first rule of using quotations is that once they’re opened, they have to be closed. The person reading your work needs to know where the quote starts and where it ends. But that’s an easy one. What about some trickier quotation mark rules?

Quotations and Capitalization

Sometimes, the text inside quotation marks is capitalized, other times it isn’t. Capitalization of the quoted material depends on the material itself—if you’re quoting a complete sentence, you should start the quote with a capital letter, even if the quote is placed in the middle of a sentence:

The exact phrase she used was “There is no way we will get there in time.”

If you’re quoting a phrase or a part of a sentence, don’t start the quote with a capital letter:

He called them “loud, smelly, and utterly annoying,” and he closed the door.

If you’re splitting a quote in half to interject a parenthetical, you should not capitalize the second part of the quote:

“The problem with opinions,” Paula explained, “is that everyone has one.”

Quotation Marks and Other Punctuation Marks

Does punctuation go inside or outside quotation marks? This question mostly refers to the sentence-ending punctuation marks—punctuation marks that introduce a quote are never placed within quotation marks.

Sentence-ending punctuation is a whole different story. In the United States, the rule of thumb is that commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks, and colons and semicolons (dashes as well) go outside:

“There was a storm last night,” Paul said.

Peter, however, didn’t believe him. “I’m not sure that’s exactly what happened.”

Peter was aware of what he called “Paul’s weakness triangle”: he was half deaf, slept like a log, and was prone to lying.

Paul saw an argument coming, so he muttered only “But I saw it”; this was going to be a long night and he didn’t want to start it with a fight.

Question marks and exclamation points have their own rules.

If they apply to the quoted material, they go within the quotation marks. If they apply to the whole sentence, they go outside it:

Sandy asked them, “Why do you guys always fight?”

Did the dog bark every time he heard Sandy say “I’m bringing dinner”?

Quotes Within Quotes

So now you know how to deal with quotation marks and punctuation and capitalization, but what if the quote you want to take already contains quotation marks? This can happen, too. Say you want to write a direct quote in which someone is praising their favorite chapter from one of the Harry Potter books. Would you do it like this?

““The Dementor’s Kiss” is my favorite chapter in the whole series,” Tom said.

It doesn’t work, does it? You might even manage to confuse your word processing program. But if you do it like this, everything will look much better:

“‘The Dementor’s Kiss’ is my favorite chapter in the whole series,” Tom said.

See how that worked better? We use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes.

Other Uses of Quotation Marks: Titles of Short Works, Words as Words, Scare Quotes

Besides setting off other people’s words, quotation marks have a couple of other uses. Depending on the style guide you’re using, you might use quotation marks to emphasize titles of all types of compositions (AP Stylebook), or just short compositions (most of the other style guides). Titles of books, albums, magazines, newspapers, and other standalone and bigger bodies of work are usually italicized. Poems, chapters, articles—smaller bodies of work, or bodies of work which form a larger body of work—are emphasized by using quotation marks.

You can also use quotation marks to signify words used as words. For example: “inhale” means to take a breath. The quotation marks show that you’re talking about the word itself, not the action of inhaling. However, you’ll often hear that it’s better to italicize words used as words rather than put them in quotation marks—different style guides might prescribe different rules.

Some writers put quotes around words they want to distance themselves from. Quotation marks used this way are commonly called scare quotes or shudder quotes. It’s a way of implying that you’re using a term in an unusual way or that you don’t necessarily approve of it:

This article was written by a “professional” writer.

Scare quotes are sort of like air quotes, and if you know anything about air quotes, you know that they should be used in moderation. The same applies to scare quotes.

You might see quotation marks used instead of parentheses for translations. So you can write translations like this:

She told him bonjour (good day) when they met.

But you can also do it like this:

She told him bonjour, “good day,” when they met.

Single Quotation Marks

We’ve already mentioned that single quotation marks can be used for quotes within quotes. But that’s not all they can do—they can also be used instead of parentheses for translations, but in that case, they don’t have to be separated by commas:

She told him bonjour ‘good day’ when they met.

Highly specialized terms in certain fields can also be written within single quotation marks:

Many scholars still argue about Lacan’s ‘desire’ and its implications.

You can also see single quotation marks instead of double quotation marks in headlines of newspaper articles. And of course, all of these rules apply to American English—single vs. double quotation marks is a whole different story in British English.

How to Navigate Political Talk at Work

You’re at your desk, writing an email and minding your own business, when you overhear your officemates chatting nearby. They’re casually discussing climate change, a topic you’re passionate about. You could weigh in and drop some serious knowledge on them, but if you do, you’re likely to be engaged in a debate. Should you resist the urge or jump into the fray? It’s a tricky question. After all, there’s a reason religion and politics have long been considered taboo in polite conversation.

The social dynamics of sensitive issues

Few subjects rival politics in the Things that Make Us Twitch department. Political topics are polarizing. Powerful cultural phenomena cause us to hold fast to our positions, which can make political debates emotionally charged. For example:

• The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias that says the less skilled or knowledgeable you are, the more likely you are to overestimate your ability. People with serious gaps in their knowledge of government and policy, for instance, are likely to assume they know more than they actually do.
• Confirmation bias happens when we prefer or seek out information that confirms our existing beliefs. The Wall Street Journal’s “Blue Feed, Red Feed” is an excellent tool for observing the effects of this bias on the political articles liberals and conservatives share on social media, each with very different perspectives.
• The bandwagon effect is the cultural phenomenon responsible for the emergence of fads and trends. The more people adopt an idea, and the more popular it becomes, the more likely we are to hop on the bandwagon, too. Our tendency toward groupthink can make it challenging when our political opinions differ from everyone else’s.

The do’s and don’ts of talking politics at work

The social dynamics that affect our opinions on these issues make navigating the turbulent waters of political talk at work a challenge. Avoiding conflicts requires a little self-control and a lot of finesse. Here are a few do’s and don’ts.

Do remember that politics are personal and talking about them can be stressful

Whatever strong opinions you hold, it’s possible your colleagues have equally strong opinions that may or may not match your own. According to the American Psychological Association, one in four younger workers (ages 18-34) report feeling stressed or unproductive as a result of political talk in the office. The APA also discovered that more than half (54 percent) of American workers actively avoid discussing politics at work. Twenty percent admitted to avoiding coworkers because of their political views. So, before you spout off about foreign policy, consider whether you’re about to make a domestic faux pas by bringing up topics that make your coworkers uncomfortable.

Don’t let your guard down on social media

There’s a reason you often see phrasing like “opinions are my own and don’t reflect the views of [company]” on Twitter profiles—social media is a public soap box, and the people you work with may well be paying attention when you take to that stage.

According to a New York Times report, “For private employees, who account for about 85 percent of the work force, the First Amendment’s guarantee offers no protection from being fired for something you’ve said, either in the workplace or outside of it, as on social media.” It’s important to not only know your company’s policies about social media, but to understand your workplace culture. If your colleagues aren’t spouting political views on Facebook, for example, you might want to play it safe when it comes to sharing your own political views on a social platform, or at least limit the audience you share them with.

Do engage others with respect

There are gentler ways of engaging in political discourse. According to research from the Harvard Business Review, actors who used four simple skills when talking about heated topics were significantly more likely to be seen as diplomatic, likeable, and knowledgeable. (Conversely, people labeled the actors as “abrasive” and even “ignorant” when they neglected to employ these skills.) Those who successfully engage in political talk focus on learning (“I’m curious about why we see things so differently. Would you share your position with me?”), ask for permission (“Would it be okay if I told you more about my perspective on this issue?”), show respect (“I don’t assume I’m right. I value your insight on this.”), and focus on common ground (“Let’s figure out the goals we have in common and work from there.”)

In other words, don’t challenge people to look at things from your point of view, challenge yourself to see things from theirs. If you must talk politics at work, practicing these skills will help you maintain better relationships with your coworkers.

Don’t tackle heated issues

Discussions about things like foreign trade or taxes generally don’t push buttons, but if you decide to dig into issues like reproductive rights or same-sex marriage, you’re treading on dangerous territory. There are some political topics that have no place in office conversation. Ever.

How do you know if a topic is too hot to handle? Consider whether it’s connected with moral or religious beliefs. These issues are so deep-seated and personal that they almost always arouse strong emotions.

Do know when to walk away

Regardless of whether you were the one to broach the topic or the topic came to you, it’s okay to walk away from a political discussion. If you feel your hackles rising, step back before you become pushy, defensive, or argumentative. Be polite, firm, and direct. Take personal responsibility for backing off rather than suggesting the other person is upsetting you. You might say: “I’m not comfortable discussing this. Can we just agree that we see things differently?” If that’s not quite your style, deflect with a little non-political humor: “Hey, let’s talk about what’s really important today. Are there any bagels left in the breakroom?”

Monday Motivation Hack: Set Your Work Boundaries

We’re not going to advise you to just “deal with it” when a coworker talks too much, listens to music too loudly, wears too much perfume, doesn’t meet deadlines, or does just about any other irritating thing people do at work.

This is about understanding your personal tolerance level at work and clearly communicating it to those around you without burning bridges.

Why Is Boundary-Setting So Hard?

Drawing a line in the sand and asserting needs is inevitably uncomfortable because it generates conflict. Humans have adapted to avoid conflict because confrontation can be a dangerous experience. We’re biologically wired to avoid the negative feelings of conflict, so we let things slide.

However, if you never deal with conflict, you’re likely to get trapped in it. And you deserve to have your needs respected. So, how do you go about asserting yourself and setting boundaries?

The Number One Rule to Setting Boundaries at Work

It can be extremely tempting when a coworker is stepping on your toes to view him as the “bad guy” and choose to see his behavior as intentional and aggressive rather than innocent, especially if it’s been happening a lot or for a long time. This biased outlook, however, sets you up for some tense interactions. Rather than focus on the negative, remember this important rule:

Always assume the person in question is reasonable and good.

Is Margaret’s music always a little too loud? She isn’t putting her needs above others; she probably doesn’t realize her headphones don’t block sound well.

Is Carter helping himself to your carrot sticks a little too freely? He isn’t being arrogant and selfish; he likely thinks that the carrot sticks are like the other snacks in the office—communal.

Is Lloyd not pulling his weight on his part of team projects? He’s not lazy; he might be confused about the task or what his responsibilities are.

Avoiding accusations and negativity is critical to preserving the functionality of the relationship. Find a perspective that gives the person in question the benefit of the doubt and approach your conversation with them from that positive point of empathy.

Once you’ve got a good grip on this very important rule, you can actually begin the confrontation.

What to Do If Someone Is Too “There”

Whether they talk too loudly, their desk items tend to sprawl into your space, or they hover in other people’s conversations, the most important thing you can do to remedy the situation is ask them to change their behavior in the moment that it’s happening.

Speak up.

Most people who are loud are just happy or excited and don’t necessarily realize that they are louder than others. People whose messes spill over tend to be people who aren’t as affected by clutter and might not realize that it bothers anyone, and people who participate in everyone’s conversations really just want to be included. These people just need a little friendly support to remind them when to quiet down, respect your space, and honor privacy.

Here’s a tip: When asking someone to modify their behavior, remember to clearly state the change you want to see. Sometimes it may be necessary to give some context as to why it is relevant to you.

“Could you please be quieter?”

“Could you please move this out of our shared space?”

“This is a private conversation. If you like, we can catch up later.”

“It’s hard for me to concentrate with so much going on, would you mind turning down your music?”

You may feel awkward speaking up, but the truth is when you’re direct and don’t make it a big deal, it’ll be fine. If you’re struggling to find the right words, Entreprenuer.com has some helpful hints.

But, what if I’ve already asked?

Keep it classy.

In the case that you have asked this person to respect your boundaries and they continue to cross the line, ask them out for coffee and clarify where you stand. Yes, there is more friction, and it can be scary to confront someone one-on-one, but if you’re gracious and—maybe even a little funny—it will be a lot easier.

Here’s a tip: Grace and humor go a long way and are especially effective if you need to actually discuss the issue you are having.

And if that still doesn’t help? Begin talking to your manager.

What to Do When Someone’s Toe-Stepping Is Serious

Unfortunately, despite our number one rule, not all behaviors are reasonable. Some are rooted in dysfunction, and it can be complicated to sort out how to improve the situation. Whether you’ve got a colleague who never lets anyone else speak, a teammate who seems lazy, or someone exhibiting narcissistic tendencies, it’s still critical that you try to give the benefit of the doubt. However, these kinds of concerns can be uniquely difficult to handle and are likely already having a significant effect on the performance of the team. It’s important to follow a few guidelines:

1. Unless the issue is serious, first try resolving the concern on your own using the tips mentioned earlier.
2. If the situation doesn’t improve, collect your thoughts, noting some concrete examples that demonstrate why you are concerned.
3. Set up a meeting with a supervisor or HR representative for help navigating the confrontation.
4. Do try to remain calm and cooperative throughout the process. Negative outbursts are counterproductive and can have serious consequences.

What kinds of experiences have you had with boundary setting and conflict resolution at work? Were there any especially effective tricks that worked for you?

Find Your Zen When Coworkers Are Getting on Your Nerves

Today is not going as planned.

A wave of unexpected assignments crashed across your desk this morning, forcing you to skip lunch. You’re feeling grouchy. Then, seeking solace in the breakroom, you discover an overloaded refrigerator shelf has chosen this very moment to collapse. After a terrible crash that surely captured everyone’s attention, you find yourself standing in a pool of broken glass, sorrow, and cold tea. Worse still, Chad, the smug programmer who always talks about his tattoos, is right there, looking on, with the nerve to act like this is all hilarious.

Choice words for Chad spring to mind. Fates involving fire and scorpions. You’re mentally verging on the kind of paroxysm the HR department might later term “disproportionate” and “alarming.” Oh dear.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, your inner professional is pleading with you not to verbalize these thoughts. There is no edit-undo shortcut for the regrettable things you’re tempted to say. In moments like this, being able to regain your chill is essential.

And opportunities to practice abound: from coworkers with a knack for rudely interrupting while you’re trying to concentrate to that one intern with the insanely loud headphones, your office is full of chances to work on finding your zen. Let’s talk about how.

Create distance

You would like to be on an island several time zones away from awful Chad and the stupid pile of work that’s waiting back at your desk. At minimum you would like to teleport to the coffee shop across the street and acquire a scone.

That impulse to flee is understandable, but for now, you’ll do well to create some mental distance, according to experts at Ohio State University. Instead of counting to ten, try zooming back and taking a more remote view of the situation, says researcher Dominik Mischkowski:

The secret is to not get immersed in your own anger and, instead, have a more detached view. . . . You have to see yourself in this stressful situation as a fly on the wall would see it.

This technique, known as “self-distancing,” helps keep you from focusing too much on your irritation and saying something you’ll later regret.

People often mistake anger for something that builds up and has to be released, much like steam in a pressure cooker, writes psychology professor Brad Bushman. But it’s better to dial back the heat altogether.

To use another analogy, venting anger is like using gasoline to put out a fire: It just feeds the flame. Venting keeps arousal levels high and keeps aggressive thoughts and angry feelings alive.

Before you react angrily, it’s a good idea to change the channel and give your elevated heart rate some time to come back down. In the meantime, you might mentally reframe the issue: maybe Chad is comically inept at knowing when to add levity. You might also distract yourself with a little self-care: take ten minutes to go grab that scone and watch a cat video.

Take care of yourself

Sometimes, when you’re feeling vexed with your coworkers, there’s no singular reason—just an amalgam of minor irritations that have weakened your psychic defenses. Maybe you got a late start, skipped breakfast, and are plain hungry. Or perhaps you got caught in a downpour on your way to work this morning and your socks have been dishearteningly damp all day.

It’s wise to prepare for such contingencies; this is why many people keep energy bars and aspirin in their desk drawer. If it’s a long haul from home, you’re not crazy for keeping a change of clothes (or at least some fresh socks) at the office as well.

In other cases, through no fault of their own, the problem really is your colleagues. Suppose Iris, in the next cubicle over, has been tasked with calling the references for several applicants for the upcoming fellowship. You’re dreading spending the afternoon listening to her ask, over and over, what each candidate’s strengths are, and what they could stand to improve on. (Then again, if overhearing all that sounds unfun, think about how Iris must feel.)

Your drawer might not include a soundproof door you can put between your desk and hers, but if you can’t scoop up your laptop and relocate to someplace quieter, then it should contain some spare headphones.

When it’s simply not cool

There are times when the issue is not that you need to take a deep breath and reclaim your office zen, but that your coworkers are acting out of line. If someone is being disrespectful or underhanded, the solution is not to find a way to smile and let it go.

Acting angrily won’t help in such situations; you need to think carefully about who you can take the problem to and how you’ll explain it, so don’t be hasty. Where the issue concerns other people who are unlikely to speak out, it’s especially worth handling thoughtfully.

Here, all that practice staying level-headed and cool will serve you well.

Ellen DeGeneres and Hugh Laurie compare British and American slang; how many can you get right?

How many of these do you know? Are you more American or Brit?

Share your results on Facebook and tag @Grammarly!

Grammar Basics: What Are Superlatives?

Can you have two best friends? Someone posted this question on Grammarly Answers. Why a question about friendship? The grammar issue has to do with the adjective “best.” Best is a superlative. Let’s discuss what that means.

Suppose you have three rich friends. Bob has five million dollars. Bill has eight million dollars. Bernice has two million dollars. If you were comparing two friends, you would use a comparative adjective: Bill is richer than Bob. When you want to express the highest or most extreme degree of the quality you are comparing, you need a superlative: Bill is my richest friend.

Forming superlative adjectives is easy. For most short adjectives, you add “est” to the end of the word. Of course, if a single syllable word already ends with E, you only need to add the “st.” To form the superlative of longer words, you put the words “most” or “least” in front of them. Bernice is not the wealthiest, but she buys the most expensive clothes. You will notice that the Y of “wealthy” becomes I in the superlative form.

“Best” is the superlative form of “good.” Remember the definition of a superlative adjective. It expresses the highest degree of the quality. When you talk about a best friend, is it possible to have more than one? You can view the answers given and share your opinion by visiting Grammarly Answers.

Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect, also called the pluperfect, is a verb tense used to talk about actions that were completed before some point in the past.

We were shocked to discover that someone had graffitied “Tootles was here” on our front door. We were relieved that Tootles had used washable paint.

The past perfect tense is for talking about something that happened before something else. Imagine waking up one morning and stepping outside to grab the newspaper. On your way back in, you notice a mysterious message scrawled across your front door: Tootles was here. When you’re telling this story to your friends later, how would you describe this moment? You might say something like:

I turned back to the house and saw that some someone named Tootles had defaced my front door!

In addition to feeling indignant on your behalf, your friends will also be able to understand that Tootles graffitied the door at some point in the past before the moment this morning when you saw his handiwork, because you used the past perfect tense to describe the misdeed.

The Past Perfect Formula

The formula for the past perfect tense is had + [past participle]. It doesn’t matter if the subject is singular or plural; the formula doesn’t change.

When to Use the Past Perfect

So what’s the difference between past perfect and simple past? When you’re talking about some point in the past and want to reference an event that happened even earlier, using the past perfect allows you to convey the sequence of the events. It’s also clearer and more specific. Consider the difference between these two sentences:

We were relieved that Tootles used washable paint. We were relieved that Tootles had used washable paint.

It’s a subtle difference, but the first sentence doesn’t tie Tootles’s act of using washable paint to any particular moment in time; readers might interpret it as “We were relieved that Tootles was in the habit of using washable paint.” In the second sentence, the past perfect makes it clear that you’re talking about a specific instance of using washable paint.

Another time to use the past perfect is when you are expressing a condition and a result:

If I had woken up earlier this morning, I would have caught Tootles red-handed.

The past perfect is used in the part of the sentence that explains the condition (the if-clause).

Most often, the reason to write a verb in the past perfect tense is to show that it happened before other actions in the same sentence that are described by verbs in the simple past tense. Writing an entire paragraph with every verb in the past perfect tense is unusual.

When Not to Use the Past Perfect

Don’t use the past perfect when you’re not trying to convey some sequence of events. If your friends asked what you did after you discovered the graffiti, they would be confused if you said:

I had cleaned it off the door.

They’d likely be wondering what happened next because using the past perfect implies that your action of cleaning the door occurred before something else happened, but you don’t say what that something else is. The “something else” doesn’t always have to be explicitly mentioned, but context needs to make it clear. In this case there’s no context, so the past perfect doesn’t make sense.

How to Make the Past Perfect Negative

Making the past perfect negative is simple! Just insert not between had and [past participle].

We looked for witnesses, but the neighbors had not seen Tootles in the act. If Tootles had not included his own name in the message, we would have no idea who was behind it.

How to Ask a Question

The formula for asking a question in the past perfect tense is had + [subject] + [past participle].

Had Tootles caused trouble in other neighborhoods before he struck ours?

Common Regular Verbs in the Past Perfect Tense

Common Irregular Verbs in the Past Perfect Tense

*The past participle of “to get” is “gotten” in American English. In British English, the past participle is “got.”