speech marks in writing

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Don't be scared: dialogue without quotation marks

It's clear straight away what sort of fish Cynan Jones is frying in The Dig , his bleak novel of west Wales rural despair. On page one Jones's unnamed "big man" parks up overlooking the shallow valley on a "flat night" which gives his van "a strange alien colour", and when he gets out it lifts and relaxes "like a child relieved of the momentary fear of being hit". Before the reader gets much further his spare, abrupt prose has dropped a dead badger on to the road, spat on the dirty tarmac beside the body and "kicked … [it] round a little to unstiffen it".

But right there on the page alongside the despoiled corpse is another signal, a promise to the reader that there's some point to all this brutality. Or rather, it's not so much that there's something added, it's that something has been missed out. The dogs have pulled off the badger's nose, leaving it hanging "loose and bloodied … like a separate animal" – making it obvious the animal wasn't killed in a traffic accident, but was illegally ripped apart by dogs for entertainment – and the big man has second thoughts which Jones punctuates like this:

Ag, he thought. The crows will sort that.

Now these are only thoughts, of course, but pretty much all of the dialogue is laid out this way as well, speech marks blown away by the gritty blast of Jones's realism. Here's a young policeman, for example, who has come round to the big man's house to ask him a few questions:

We've had a report of fly-tipping. He waited. I just wanted to ask whether you would know anything about that. What did they tip? asked the man. The policeman didn't respond. He was looking at the junk and the big man saw and said, Does it look like I throw things away? Just wondered if you could help, sir, said the policeman.

Jones says the novel was traditionally speech marked until Granta wanted to run a chunk as part of their "celebration" of Britain's "past and present, its people, its land" . John Freeman, who was editing the magazine back in 2012, took the speech marks out, Jones explains, hoping to make it "more immediate, more with it". And it was this impact, this directness which had the novelist crossing out inverted commas left, right and centre as he pulled the rest of the book together.

Like many of the symbols habitually used to mount text on to the page, inverted commas have a long and complicated history. According to Keith Houston , the "germ" of the quotation mark is to be found in the "diple (>)" placed by first-century scribes in the margin to indicate a line which contained "some noteworthy text". Christian scholars used the diple to reveal the presence of that most noteworthy of texts, the Bible, but as their theological disputes became more and more involved they started using it to distinguish their own words from those of their opponents. With the invention of the printing press, compositors began reaching for a pair of commas (",,") to indicate quotations, hanging doubled commas in the margin of passages containing quoted text. But in the 18th century, Houston explains, the impetus to standardise the use of quotation marks came from the "drive for realism" shown by authors such as Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding and Samuel Richardson as they experimented with the newest form of literature, the novel.

Eschewing paraphrased, reported speech filtered through a narrator, these new novelists presented readers with their characters' unvarnished words, and with this new directness came a need to separate speech from narration.

The 1748 edition of Clarissa separated speakers with "dashes or new lines", but sometimes placed an opening quotation mark "at the exact point at which a quotation began, with a new 'mark of silence', or closing quotation mark ("), accompanying it where the quotation ended". The 1765 edition of Moll Flanders showed changes in speaker with paragraph breaks, "though marginal inverted commas were retained for the occasional sententious quotation". But by the end of the 18th century, Houston continues, "the growing pains of the double comma were largely past". Largely past, that is, until editors like Freeman want to make things a little more direct, a little more real.

By stripping away a couple of centuries of typographical convention, Jones doesn't just jab his characters' speech right in the reader's eye, he also aligns himself with the kind of author who's been ignoring typographical convention all along. Writers like James Joyce, who lays out his dialogue as for the theatre or in the continental manner – with a new line and a horizontal dash to show when someone starts to speak – or Samuel Beckett who sometimes makes do with a simple paragraph break. There isn't much talking in Jones's dark portrait of country life, but the way he's laid out the dialogue speaks volumes for his ambition.

• James Joyce
• Samuel Beckett

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How to Use Quotation Marks Correctly—An Introduction

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Quotation marks—sometimes called ‘speech marks’, or more colloquially ‘quotes’—are used to indicate direct speech. Depending on where you are, the quotation mark may be different.

Australia and the United Kingdom use single quotation marks: ‘ ’

North America uses double quotation marks: “ ”

In this article, we will reference to Snooks & Co.’s Style Manual: For Authors, Editors and Printers (2002, hereafter, Style Manual )—the authority on style matters in Australia. They recommend the use of single quotation marks (p. 112). We will illustrate how to use quotation marks for direct speech and how to punctuate quotations within quotations. We’ll also explain some other uses for quotation marks.

In our next article, ‘How to Use Quotation Marks Correctly—Quotation Marks with Other Punctuation’, we will explain how to deal with conflicting punctuation marks—especially when ending a sentence.

Quotation Marks and Direct Speech

Quotation marks are used to enclose direct speech, or a direct quotation, that is less than 30 words long. Here are some examples:

The teacher asked, ‘Could you please hand in your books?’

‘It is a sad day for humanity’, the reporter typed.

According to the Style Manual , ‘quotation marks … enclose direct quotations, whether they are sentence fragments, a sentence, or more than one sentence’ (p. 113).

Longer quotations are formatted into block quotations and are indented from the main text—they do not take quotation marks. They are introduced with a colon, not a comma.

Quotations within Quotations

The only time double quotation marks are used in British and Australia English is when quotations appear within quotations. Used in this way, the double quotation marks are important for avoiding ambiguity. See the example below:

The man stood and said, ‘It is important for me to clarify something. I said “it will be alright”, and I meant it.’

Other Uses of Quotation Marks

According to the Style Manual , use quotation marks when ‘referring to the title of an unpublished document, a chapter in a published work, an article in a periodical, an essay, a lecture, a short poem or a song’ (p. 113).

Quotation marks can also be used to introduce a technical term that needs to be defined. In this case, you would only enclose it in quotation marks for its first mention:

The term ‘apostrophe’ refers to a mark of punctuation that is used to signify ownership or that two words have been contracted into one.

Sometimes quotation marks are used to enclose slang, colloquial words or in more formal writing:

Snapchat is a social media application (or ‘app’) that allows users to send ‘snaps’ (i.e., photographs) to other users with a timed-view mechanism.

They call him Anthony ‘The Man’ Mundine.

Quotations can also create ironic emphasis in a piece of writing. In the following example, read the word in quotation marks with a sarcastic tone:

The ‘teacher’ said to open our books; she didn’t look a day over 18.

In that example, the quotation marks indicate that the speaker doesn’t believe the teacher could be old enough to be a teacher.

To learn more about how quotation marks are used in conjunction with other sentence punctuation, read our next article, How to Use Quotation Marks Correctly - Quotation Marks with Other Punctuation’ . Also, we have coverved commonly confused words such as What is the difference between Practice and Practise ?, When to Use a Semicolon ?, What is the difference between Its and It’s ?, alternate and alternative , their, they’re and there ; lay and lie ; affect and effect ; and advice and advise . Just let us know what would you like us to dive into next?

Style Manual: For Authors, Editors and Printers. 2002. 6th ed. Revised by Snooks & Co. Milton, QLD: John Wiley & Sons.

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Speech Marks

Introduction.

Writers use speech marks to indicate the exact words that someone has spoken or written. For instance, if you were writing a story and one of the characters said “I love ice cream”, you would use speech marks to show that those were the character’s exact words. It would look like this:

“Hey,” said Sarah, “I love ice cream!”

Direct speech is an effective way to get the reader to hear the character’s voice and learn more about their personality. When you are writing your own stories, don’t forget to use speech marks to signal the start of the quotation and closing speech marks at the end.

Exercise One

Correct the following sentences by inserting the speech marks and any other punctuation marks needed.

• Hello, said the man.
• What are you doing? said Fred.
• Stop! shouted the policeman.
• Wait a minute, said Ellen. Don’t I know you from somewhere?
• I know what we’ll do, said Alana. We’ll go to the pictures.
• You look tired said Keith
• Can I come in asked the man
• No screamed the man
• Come here said Grandma I want to see how much you have grown
• Is that my bag asked Danielle I thought I’d lost it
• Run shouted Rebecca The dog is after us
• I know what I want for my birthday said Tina A brand new car
• What is your name asked the teacher.
• Paul said you must be joking.
• Jill asked is tea ready.
• I am so hungry moaned Aisling I could eat a horse.
• What’s the score wondered Helen.
• Do you know where Bangor is asked the policeman.
• The policeman said don’t do that again.
• What’s for tea moaned the children we are hungry.
• Come on you reds shouted the fans.
• Mother asked where are you going?
• I am going to the park said Peter.
• Susan said to me I am hungry.
• So am I replied Kevin.

Exercise Two

The answers to the first exercise are available at the end of this page. Compare the use of speech marks in those responses to your own and think about why there are any differences.

In your own words and based on the answers to first task, write out rules you can follow to make sure you use direct speech correctly in your own writing. Do the speech marks appear before or after the comma at the end of the character’s words? Why do some words in the middle of sentence start with a capital letter?

Exercise Three

Now you have a better understanding of speech marks, correct the following sentences by inserting any punctuation where needed.

• The policewoman asked what is your name?
• Bethany Hirst answered the girl.
• Will you take me across the road? asked the old man.
• Certainly said the kind lady.
• Please move along the bus said the driver.
• A return ticket to Dundonald please asked the girl.
• Aunt Sally asked Uncle Joe how are you?
• I am very well thank you he replied.
• Hello, said my mum when I came home from school.
• What time is it? asked John.
• Stop talking, shouted the teacher.
• The man in the shop said, Do you need any help?
• Can you go to the shop? asked Dad. Yes, I replied.
• The old lady said, Can you help me cross the road?
• Not I, grunted the pig.
• The teacher said, Please tidy your books away.
• Can you get me a pencil, please? asked Rajan.
• Please be quiet, whispered the librarian.
• The little girl said, Please may I have an apple?
• The boy said, I would like to go home now.
• The lady asked, why do you want to go so soon?
• I don’t feel very well, the boy replied.
• The lady whispered, are you missing your mum?
• The boy looked at her and muttered, you won’t tell anyone will you?
• The lady winked and answered, of course not silly.

Remember to use speech marks whenever you want to show exactly what someone said or wrote. If you want to include a quotation from a book, you would also use speech marks: in “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”, Hagrid tells Harry, “You’re a wizard, Harry.”

However, you should try our inverted commas exercises to explore the difference between those punctuation marks and speech marks in British English.

• “Hello,” said the man.
• “What are you doing?” said Fred.
• “Stop!” shouted the policeman.
• “Wait a minute,” said Ellen. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”
• “I know what we’ll do,” said Alana. “We’ll go to the pictures.”
• “You look tired,” said Keith.
• “Can I come in?” asked the man.
• “No!” screamed the man.
• “Come here,” said Grandma, “I want to see how much you have grown.”
• “Is that my bag?” asked Danielle. “I thought I’d lost it.”
• “Run!” shouted Rebecca. “The dog is after us!”
• “I know what I want for my birthday,” said Tina. “A brand-new car!”
• “What is your name?” asked the teacher.
• Paul said, “You must be joking.”
• Jill asked, “Is tea ready.”
• “I am so hungry,” moaned Aisling, “I could eat a horse.”
• “What’s the score?” wondered Helen.
• “Do you know where Bangor is?” asked the policeman.
• The policeman said, “Don’t do that again.”
• “What’s for tea?” moaned the children. “We are hungry.”
• “Come on you reds!” shouted the fans.
• Mother asked, “Where are you going?”
• “I am going to the park,” said Peter.
• Susan said to me, “I am hungry.”
• “So am I,” replied Kevin.
• The policewoman asked, “What is your name?”
• “Bethany Hirst,” answered the girl.
• “Will you take me across the road?” asked the old man.
• “Certainly,” said the kind lady.
• “Please move along the bus,” said the driver.
• “A return ticket to Dundonald, please,” asked the girl.
• Aunt Sally asked Uncle Joe, “How are you?”
• “I am very well, thank you,” he replied.
• “Hello,” said my mum when I came home from school.
• “What time is it?” asked John.
• “Stop talking,” shouted the teacher.
• The man in the shop said, “Do you need any help?”
• “Can you go to the shop?” asked Dad. “Yes, I replied.”
• The old lady said, “Can you help me cross the road?”
• “Not I,” grunted the pig.
• The teacher said, “Please tidy your books away.”
• “Can you get me a pencil, please?” asked Rajan.
• “Please be quiet,” whispered the librarian.
• The little girl said, “Please may I have an apple?”
• The boy said, “I would like to go home now.”
• The lady asked, “Why do you want to go so soon?”
• “I don’t feel very well,” the boy replied.
• The lady whispered, “Are you missing your mum?”
• The boy looked at her and muttered, “You won’t tell anyone will you?”
• The lady winked and answered, “Of course not, silly.”

Apostrophes

Indirect Speech

Inverted Commas

Conjunctions

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What are speech marks?

Inverted commas (also known as speech marks and quotation marks ) are punctuation marks that show us where direct speech starts and ends.

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Speech marks are not used if we are writing indirect (reported) speech.

How are speech marks used?

Speech marks or inverted commas are used to show what the words actually spoken by a person or character are. Direct speech is separated from a reporting clause by a comma . For example:

As demonstrated in the example, the words spoken directly ( Although I wish they wouldn't my children fight all the time ) are marked by speech marks. The words spoken have also been separated by a reporting clause ( she sighed ).

When two or more people are having a conversation, a new line for each speaker is used , as this clarifies who is speaking. For example:

How are speech marks taught in the primary classroom?

When speech marks are first introduced in Year 3 , there is a lot of use of drama and reading class texts aloud. Children will identify direct speech within texts they are reading as a class. 

In Year 4 there is more focus on multiple speakers.

In Years 5 and 6, children will be taught and expected to use the correct punctuation for speech, with multiple speakers and reporting clauses breaking up the direct speech.

When are speech marks taught in the primary-school classroom?

Inverted commas are first taught in Lower Key Stage 2, in Year 3. As punctuating direct speech is a fundamental primary-school writing objective , the use of speech marks will be reinforced in every subsequent year group.

In Year 3, teachers will focus more on simply punctuating the spoken words with inverted commas to indicate the specific words that have been spoken. In Year 4, this progresses onto using commas to separate the reported clause from the direct speech, and then using other forms of punctuation other than full stops within the inverted commas. For example:

In Years 3 and 4, children learn that the reporting clause can be positioned before or after the direct speech in the sentence.

During the SATs Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation test taken at the end of Year 6, children are also likely to be asked a question about inverted commas and/or the correct punctuation needed to show speech. For example:

By the end of Year 6, when a child’s writing is assessed, they will be expected to use speech to move the action in their stories forward and to punctuate correctly. 

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Punctuation Inside or Outside Quotation Marks?

Punctuation inside or outside quotations, the us and uk rules for commas and periods (full stops) with quotations.

A More Detailed Explanation of Punctuation Inside or Outside Quotations

This page was written by Craig Shrives .

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The Editor’s Manual

Free learning resource on English grammar, punctuation, usage, and style.

• Punctuation |
• Quotation marks

Four Uses of Quotation Marks

Place quotation marks (or inverted commas) around direct speech or a quotation. Quotes may also enclose a word or a phrase used ironically or in some special sense other than its usual meaning. Also use quotes to enclose words used as themselves instead of functionally in a sentence. Quotation marks set off titles of shorter works that appear within a larger work (e.g., the title of a chapter, article, or poem).

Direct speech and quoted text

Use quotation marks (also known as inverted commas or quotes) to enclose the exact words of another person’s speech or text . Quotation marks always appear in pairs: use an opening quotation mark to indicate the start of quoted text and a closing quotation mark to indicate its end.

• Maya said, “We need more time.”
• Dash replied, “You always have a choice.”
• Nemo predicts that the travel sector will grow by 20% this year. “We are already seeing overcrowded airports and full occupancy at hotels.”
• “Where were you?” “At the park.”
• “Stop!” he cried.
• “I’m going to bake a cake,” said Lulu.
• “Are you still there?” she typed.
• She felt “a sudden, sharp pain” in her side.
• A witness described it as “the loudest bang” and said she thought “the world was ending.”

Prefer to use smart or curly quotes over straight quotes in formal writing. Smart quotes are directional: the opening and closing quotation marks look different from each other, curving inward towards the quotation instead of being identical and unidirectional (“. . . ” instead of ". . . "). The HTML character codes for smart quotes are &ldquo; and &rdquo; with Unicode values &#8220; and &#8221; . Microsoft Word has a checkbox you can select to make sure your documents display smart instead of straight quotes.

Commas surrounding a quotation

Use a comma after verbs like said , wrote , replied , and asked when they introduce a quote that is a complete sentence .

• Maya said, “I hope the train is on time.”
• Farley asked, “Do you sell pumpkins?”
• In a diary entry she wrote, “I now know why I’m here.”
• Lulu replied, “None of them has the answer.”

The explanatory text may appear after the quote, in which case the quote ends in a comma .

• “I hope the train is on time,” said Maya.
• “I now know why I’m here,” she wrote.
• “ None of them has the answer,” replied Lulu.

If the quote ends in a question mark or exclamation point , don’t use a comma.

• “Where have all the bees gone?” he asked.
• “Run!” she cried.
• “And then he was gone!” she wrote.
• He asked, “Where are all the butterflies?”

If the explanatory text divides the quote into two parts, use commas both before and after.

• “None of them,” she said, “has the answer.”

Don’t use commas if the quote appears in the flow of the surrounding sentence and cannot stand by itself as a complete sentence.

• They call it “the song of the birds.”
• She said it sent “a shiver right through her toes” to see him on TV.

Running quotations

Running quotations are those that span paragraphs. If a quote starts in one paragraph and continues into another, place an opening quotation mark at the start of each paragraph but a closing quotation mark only at the end of the final one. This indicates to the reader that it’s the same speaker or writer across paragraphs, whose quotation ends only at the end of the final paragraph.

• Dash said: “Paragraph 1. “Paragraph 2. “Paragraph 3. “Final paragraph.”
• She replied, “I don’t have any money. “I never have any money . Any money I have, I spend it. You know that.”

Scare quotes

Enclose a word or a phrase in quotation marks or “ scare quotes ” to indicate that it is being used ironically or in a nonstandard way (conveying a meaning other than the usual).

• She said she was going to “call the doctor.”
• That was some “meeting.” All he did was yell.
• She said she likes “classical” literature and then quoted Dan Brown.

Be careful not to overuse scare quotes. In particular, don’t enclose a word or a phrase in quotes simply to emphasize it (use formatting options like italic instead).

Don’t enclose standard idioms or slang in scare quotes.

• Incorrect: It’s time we gave him “a taste of his own medicine.” “A taste of someone’s own medicine” is a standard idiom in English with a defined meaning. Correct: It’s time we gave him a taste of his own medicine.

Words as words

To refer to a word or a term as itself in a sentence rather than using it functionally, you can enclose it in quotation marks.

• “I” and “ me ” are both pronouns. The words “I” and “me” are not used functionally as pronouns , but are referred to as themselves, which is why they are enclosed in quotation marks.
• I used to think the word “bell” was onomatopoeic.
• How do you spell “onomatopoeic”?

Italics are preferred over quotation marks in formal writing to refer to a term (a letter, word, or phrase ) used as itself in a sentence. Use quotes instead if doing so helps improve readability or clarity, or in media where italics are not easily available (chat messages, posts on social media such as tweets).

• There’s no “I” in “team.” There’s no “J” either.
• Sartre speaks of en soi , or “being-in-itself,” which is the self-contained existence of objects.

Titles of works

Titles of larger works are generally italicized (such as names of books, movies, journals, and magazines), but titles of shorter works that appear within a larger work are enclosed in quotation marks. For example, the title of a short story that appears within an anthology is enclosed in quotes, while the title of the larger anthology itself is italicized. Similarly, the title of a song is enclosed in quotation marks, while the name of a music album is italicized. Titles of articles are enclosed in quotation marks, while names of periodicals are italicized.

• Her short story, “Cat Person,” was published in the New Yorker in 2017.
• “Fade into You” is probably their most famous song.
• Refer to Chapter 4, “Why Humans Talk.”

Titles of larger works (like names of books and movies) may also be enclosed in quotation marks in media where the use of italics is uncommon or impossible (e.g., chat messages, social media).

• Did you know “The Silence” is a remake of a 1963 film?
• One of his books that affected me deeply as a child is “Insomnia.”

Capitalization

Capitalize a quote that is a full sentence introduced by verbs like said and wrote or phrases like as she said or according to .

• As Dash once said, “There is no life without hope.”
• She wrote, “There is no life without hope. To live is to hope.”
• According to Dash, “There is no life without hope.”
• Minerva replied, “My childhood was a time full of hope.”

Don’t capitalize a quotation that appears within the flow of a larger sentence.

• She once said that “ there is no life without hope.”
• She described her childhood as “ a time full of hope.”

Don’t capitalize the second part of a quote that is interrupted by an explanatory phrase.

• “My childhood,” she said, “ was a time full of hope.”

A quotation of one or more full sentences may also be introduced using a colon in formal text. It is then capitalized .

• Dash said: “There is no life without hope. To live is to hope.”

Quotes within quotes: Single and double quotes

Use single within double quotes to show quotes within quotes —to enclose in quotes a word or a phrase that appears within material already enclosed in quotation marks.

• Leonard’s latest article, “Bacteria and Fungi Can ‘Walk’ across the Surface of Our Teeth,” may make you want to rinse your mouth out every five minutes.

In British academic and creative writing, single quotes are the default , with double quotes reserved for quotes within quotes, as recommended by the New Oxford Style Manual (the style manual of the Oxford University Press). In British news copy however, double quotes are generally the default, as in American style.

Most U.S. style guides , like the Chicago Manual of Style , APA Publication Manual , AP Stylebook , and MLA Handbook , recommend enclosing quotations in double quotes, with single quotation marks reserved for quotes within quotes.

Periods and commas with quotation marks

In American writing, periods and commas always appear inside closing quotation marks .

• “My mother,” she said, “could get quite angry.”
• Use “I,” not “me,” as the subject of a sentence.
• We decimate our forests, pollute our waters, poison our air, and call it “progress.”
• I’m sure Poco, the “expert,” will be happy to advise us.

In British writing, a period or a comma precedes a closing quotation mark only if it part of the quoted text. If it is meant to punctuate the surrounding sentence instead, the comma appears after the closing quotation mark.

• ‘My mother’, she said, ‘could get quite angry.’ The commas punctuate the larger sentence and appear outside quotes. The period ends the quotation and therefore appears inside. Don’t use another period to end the sentence. Also note the use of single instead of double quotation marks in British style.
• Use ‘I’, not ‘me’, as the subject of a sentence.
• We cut down trees, pollute our waters, poison our air, and call it ‘progress’.
• I’m sure Poco, the ‘expert’, will be happy to advise us.

Other punctuation with quotation marks

Other punctuation marks, like question marks and exclamation points, precede a closing quotation mark if they belong to the quoted content. If they belong to the surrounding sentence, they appear after the closing quotation mark.

• She asked, “Where were you?”
• He cried, “It can’t be!”
• Did he just say, “I don’t want your money”?
• What do you mean by the word “truth”?
• She calls it “truth”!

Share this article

Use a comma after verbs like said when they introduce a quote that is a complete sentence.

Don’t use a comma before quoted text that is not a full sentence but appears in the flow of a larger sentence.

Capitalize a quote that is a complete sentence.

Don’t unnecessarily capitalize quoted text that is not a full sentence.

Enclose titles of shorter works (like poems) in quotation marks.

In U.S. style, double quotation marks are the primary choice, with single quotation reserved for quotes within quotes.

Periods always go inside closing quotation marks in American writing.

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• Synonyms & Antonyms
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English / Grammar & Language / Editing & Punctuation / Speech Marks

Browse our collection of speech marks worksheets and resources. Speech marks, often called quotation marks, are used to signal direct speech. These resources help teach how to identify and correctly punctuate direct speech in writing.

Use the filter above to narrow the results by resource type and/or grade level.

Editing Reference Card

A reference card to support students in the editing process of their writing. CUPS: Capitals, Understanding, Punctuation, Spelling.

Speech Bubble to Direct Speech (2)

Write (and punctuate) a sentence containing direct speech to match each of the given pictures.

Speech Bubble to Direct Speech (1)

Missing Speech Marks (Easier)

Add in the speech marks in the correct places. Use the guide to help add in capital letters and commas where they are needed.

Missing Speech Marks

Writing Direct Speech (2)

Fill in the speech bubble to match each picture and then write a sentence containing direct speech to match.

Writing Direct Speech (1)

Missing Speech Marks: Rewrite (2)

Rewrite each sentence using speech marks to punctuate the direct speech. Add in capital letters and commas where they are needed.

Missing Speech Marks: Rewrite (1)

Edit for Speech Marks (2)

Edit for Speech Marks (1)

Change Direct Speech to Indirect

This worksheet helps students learn to write in indirect speech. Change the sentence containing direct speech to indirect speech.

26 Types of Punctuation Marks & Typographical Symbols

• What Is Punctuation?
• What Is A Typographical Symbol?
• Punctuation Vs. Typographical Symbols
• Types Of Punctuation And Symbols
• Try Grammar Coach

We use words in writing. Shocking, I know! Do you know what else we use in writing? Here is a hint: they have already appeared in this paragraph. In addition to words, we use many different symbols and characters to organize our thoughts and make text easier to read. All of these symbols come in two major categories: punctuation marks and typographical symbols . These symbols have many different uses and include everything from the humble period ( . ) to the rarely used caret symbol ( ^ ). There may even be a few symbols out there that you’ve never even heard of before that leave you scratching your head when you see them on your keyboard!

What is punctuation ?

Punctuation is the act or system of using specific marks or symbols in writing to separate different elements from each other or to make writing more clear. Punctuation is used in English and the other languages that use the Latin alphabet. Many other writing systems also use punctuation, too. Thanks to punctuation, we don’t have to suffer through a block of text that looks like this:

• My favorite color is red do you like red red is great my sister likes green she always says green is the color of champions regardless of which color is better we both agree that no one likes salmon which is a fish and not a color seriously

Punctuation examples

The following sentences give examples of the many different punctuation marks that we use:

• My dog , Bark Scruffalo , was featured in a superhero movie . 
• If there ’ s something strange in your neighborhood , who are you going to call ?
• A wise man once said , “ Within the body of every person lies a skeleton .”
• Hooray ! I found everything on the map : the lake , the mountain , and the forest . 
• I told Ashley ( if that was her real name ) that I needed the copy lickety-split .

What is a typographical symbol ?

The term typographical symbol , or any other number of phrases, refers to a character or symbol that isn’t considered to be a punctuation mark but may still be used in writing for various purposes. Typographical symbols are generally avoided in formal writing under most circumstances. However, you may see typographic symbols used quite a bit in informal writing.

Typographical symbol examples

The following examples show some ways that a writer might use typographical symbols. Keep in mind that some of these sentences may not be considered appropriate in formal writing.

• The frustrated actor said she was tired of her co-star’s “annoying bull **** .”
• For questions, email us at anascabana @ bananacabanas.fake!
• The band had five # 1 singles on the American music charts during the 1990s.
• My internet provider is AT & T.

⚡️ Punctuation vs. typographical symbols

Punctuation marks are considered part of grammar and often have well-established rules for how to use them properly. For example, the rules of proper grammar state that a letter after a period should be capitalized and that a comma must be used before a coordinating conjunction.

Typographical symbols, on the other hand, may not have widely accepted rules for how, or even when, they should be used. Generally speaking, most grammar resources will only allow the use of typographical symbols under very specific circumstances and will otherwise advise a writer to avoid using them.

Types of punctuation and symbols

There are many different types of punctuation marks and typographical symbols. We’ll briefly touch on them now, but you can learn more about these characters by checking out the links in this list and also each section below:

• Question mark
• Exclamation point
• Parentheses
• Square brackets
• Curly brackets
• Angle brackets
• Quotation marks
• Bullet point
• Pound symbol
• Caret symbol
• Pipe symbol

Period, question mark, and exclamation point

These three commonly used punctuation marks are used for the same reason: to end an independent thought.

A period is used to end a declarative sentence . A period indicates that a sentence is finished.

• Today is Friday .

Unique to them, periods are also often used in abbreviations.

• Prof . Dumbledore once again awarded a ludicrous amount of points to Gryffindor.

Question mark (?)

The question mark is used to end a question, also known as an interrogative sentence .

• Do you feel lucky ?

Exclamation point (!)

The exclamation point is used at the end of exclamations and interjections .

• Our house is haunted ! 

Comma, colon, and semicolon

Commas, colons, and semicolons can all be used to connect sentences together.

The comma is often the punctuation mark that gives writers the most problems. It has many different uses and often requires good knowledge of grammar to avoid making mistakes when using it. Some common uses of the comma include:

• Joining clauses: Mario loves Peach , and she loves him . 
• Nonrestrictive elements: My favorite team , the Fighting Mongooses , won the championship this year.
• Lists: The flag was red , white , and blue.
• Coordinate adjectives: The cute , happy puppy licked my hand.

Try out this quiz on the Oxford comma!

The colon is typically used to introduce additional information.

• The detective had three suspects : the salesman, the gardener, and the lawyer.

Like commas, colons can also connect clauses together.

• We forgot to ask the most important question : who was buying lunch?

Colons have a few other uses, too.

• The meeting starts at 8:15 p.m.
• The priest started reading from Mark 3:6 .

Semicolon (;)

Like the comma and the colon, the semicolon is used to connect sentences together. The semicolon typically indicates that the second sentence is closely related to the one before it.

• I can’t eat peanuts ; I am highly allergic to them.
• Lucy loves to eat all kinds of sweets ; lollipops are her favorite.

Hyphen and dashes (en dash and em dash)

All three of these punctuation marks are often referred to as “dashes.” However, they are all used for entirely different reasons.

The hyphen is used to form compound words.

• I went to lunch with my father-in-law .
• She was playing with a jack-in-the-box .
• He was accused of having pro-British sympathies.

En dash (–)

The en dash is used to express ranges or is sometimes used in more complex compound words.

• The homework exercises are on pages 20–27 .
• The songwriter had worked on many Tony Award–winning productions.

Em dash (—)

The em dash is used to indicate a pause or interrupted speech.

• The thief was someone nobody expected —me !
• “Those kids will— ” was all he managed to say before he was hit by a water balloon.

Test your knowledge on the different dashes here.

Parentheses, brackets, and braces

These pairs of punctuation marks look similar, but they all have different uses. In general, the parentheses are much more commonly used than the others.

Parentheses ()

Typically, parentheses are used to add additional information.

• I thought (for a very long time) if I should actually give an honest answer.
• Tomorrow is Christmas (my favorite holiday) !

Parentheses have a variety of other uses, too.

• Pollution increased significantly. (See Chart 14B)
• He was at an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting.
• Richard I of England (1157–1199) had the heart of a lion.

Square brackets []

Typically, square brackets  are used to clarify or add information to quotations.

• According to an eyewitness, the chimpanzees “climbed on the roof and juggled [bananas] .”
• The judge said that “the defense attorney [Mr. Wright] had made it clear that the case was far from closed.”

Curly brackets {}

Curly brackets , also known as braces , are rarely used punctuation marks that are used to group a set.

• I was impressed by the many different colors {red, green, yellow, blue, purple, black, white} they selected for the flag’s design.

Angle brackets <>

Angle brackets have no usage in formal writing and are rarely ever used even in informal writing. These characters have more uses in other fields, such as math or computing.

Quotation marks and apostrophe

You’ll find these punctuation marks hanging out at the top of a line of text.

Quotation marks (“”)

The most common use of quotation marks is to contain quotations.

• She said, “ Don’t let the dog out of the house. ”
• Bob Ross liked to put “ happy little trees ” in many of his paintings.

Apostrophe (‘)

The apostrophe is most often used to form possessives and contractions.

• The house ’ s back door is open.
• My cousin ’ s birthday is next week.
• It isn ’ t ready yet.
• We should ’ ve stayed outside.

Slash and ellipses

These are two punctuation marks you may not see too often, but they are still useful.

The slash has several different uses. Here are some examples:

• Relationships: The existence of boxer briefs somehow hasn’t ended the boxers/briefs debate.
• Alternatives: They accept cash and/or credit.
• Fractions: After an hour, 2/3 of the audience had already left.

Ellipses (…)

In formal writing, ellipses are used to indicate that words were removed from a quote.

• The mayor said, “The damages will be … paid for by the city … as soon as possible.”

In informal writing, ellipses are often used to indicate pauses or speech that trails off.

• He nervously stammered and said, “Look, I … You see … I wasn’t … Forget it, okay.”

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Typographical symbols

Typographical symbols rarely appear in formal writing. You are much more likely to see them used for a variety of reasons in informal writing.

Asterisk (*)

In formal writing, especially academic and scientific writing, the asterisk is used to indicate a footnote.

• Chocolate is the preferred flavor of ice cream.* * According to survey data from the Ice Cream Data Center.

The asterisk may also be used to direct a reader toward a clarification or may be used to censor inappropriate words or phrases.

Ampersand (&)

The ampersand substitutes for the word and . Besides its use in the official names of things, the ampersand is typically avoided in formal writing.

•  The band gave a speech at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame .

Bullet Point (•)

Bullet points are used to create lists. For example,

For this recipe you will need:

• baking powder

Pound symbol (#)

Informally, the pound symbol is typically used to mean number or is used in social media hashtags.

• The catchy pop song reached #1 on the charts.
• Ready 4 Halloween 2morrow!!! #spooky #TrickorTreat

Besides being used as an accent mark in Spanish and Portuguese words, the tilde is rarely used. Informally, a person may use it to mean “about” or “approximately.”

• We visited São Paulo during our vacation.
• I think my dog weighs ~20 pounds.

Backslash (\)

The backslash is primarily used in computer programming and coding. It might be used online and in texting to draw emoticons , but it has no other common uses in writing. Be careful not to mix it up with the similar forward slash (/), which is a punctuation mark.

At symbol (@)

The at symbol substitutes for the word at in informal writing. In formal writing, it is used when writing email addresses.

• His email address is [email protected] .

Caret symbol (^)

The caret symbol is used in proofreading, but may be used to indicate an exponent if a writer is unable to use superscript .

• Do you know what 3 ^ 4 (3 to the power of 4) is equal to?

Pipe symbol (|)

The pipe symbol is not used in writing. Instead, it has a variety of functions in the fields of math, physics, or computing.

How much do you know about verbs? Learn about them here.

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Single vs. Double Quotes: How & When to Use Quotation Marks

by Fija Callaghan

You’ve probably seen quotation marks all around you all the time—but maybe, when you sit down to write something, you’re not super confident about how exactly to use them correctly or which types go where. Between double quotation marks, single quotation marks, direct speech, nested speech, emphatic speech… it can start to feel a little overwhelming!

Not to worry. We’ll guide you through everything you need to know about how to use these quotation marks confidentially, consistently, and effectively in your writing.

What’s the difference between single quotes vs. double quotes?

Single quotes (‘’) are more commonly used in British punctuation, while double quotes (“ ”) are more commonly used in American punctuation. Both are used to offset direct speech, certain titles, or emphatic language from the rest of the text. American English also uses single quotation marks to offset nested dialogue, while British English uses double quotation marks for nested dialogue.

We’ll take a closer look at each of these uses below.

When should you use double quotation marks?

One important thing to remember is that quotation mark usage is different depending on if you’re writing in American English or European English. However, both use single and double quotation marks in different ways.

Here’s the most important usage of double quotation marks in writing: dialogue.

For direct dialogue (if you’re American)

The most common use of quotation marks is setting off direct speech. In America, they use a double quotation mark to indicate something spoken out loud. For example:

“Are you still coming by later?” She looked away, affecting disinterest.

The double quotation mark separates the direct speech from the rest of the text.

For nested dialogue (if you’re European)

A nested quotation refers to dialogue within dialogue. This is usually if the person speaking is quoting someone else. Europeans use double quotation marks to set off nested speech, like this:

‘So then he was like, “Uh, I’m busy…,” and I said, “Okay, what are you busy with?” And he didn’t even know!’

Sometimes quotation marks are called “inverted commas” in British English.

When should you use single quotation marks?

Single quotation marks appear in both dialects, too, but in different ways.

For direct dialogue (if you’re European)

You may notice from the example above that the example of European English opens its dialogue with single quotation marks. This is a major punctuation difference between European and American English.

In Europe, the first dialogue example would look like this:

‘Are you still coming by later?’ She looked away, affecting disinterest.

For nested dialogue (if you’re American)

For nested dialogue, the same rule applies: the single and double quotes are reversed. Americans use single quotes for their nested dialogue, instead of double quotes. The above example would look like this:

“So then he was like, ‘Uh, I’m busy…,’ and I said, ‘Okay, what are you busy with?’ And he didn’t even know!”

The single quotes show the reader that there are two separate strains of dialogue happening within the same space.

You can learn more about properly punctuating your dialogue in our lesson here .

Quotation marks vs. italics in dialogue

Sometimes, though, you might see dialogue being written in italics without any quotation marks. What’s that all about?

Quotation marks—single or double, depending where on the map you are—is used to denote speech that’s happening out loud , in the present moment . This might be either a conversation, a lecture, or just talking to yourself out loud.

Italics are most commonly used for internal speech—that is, dialogue that’s happening in a character’s head. The reader sees a piece of dialogue written in italics and knows that it wasn’t spoken out loud; the character was just thinking it to themselves. Italics might also be used to communicate dialogue that is shared but not spoken, such as sign language or telepathy.

Sometimes, dialogue that’s spoken out loud but is happening in a flashback or memory might be written in italics, too. That way, the reader knows that they’re moving away from the present moment into the mists of time gone by.

Occasionally, you might see all of the dialogue being written in italics instead of in quotation marks. This is more common in short stories than in longer works like novels. It gives the impression that the whole story is happening in a dream state, or is being revisited in retrospect as the character looks back on their memories. Most of the time, however, writers like to use quotation marks to set off their dialogue because it’s what most readers are familiar with.

Other uses of quotation marks

Here are a few more places you’ll see these punctuation marks in writing. All of these will use either the standard double quotation marks in America, or the single quotation mark in Europe.

For titles of short-form work

Many style guides put quotation marks around short-form artistic works that form part of a larger whole. Standalone work, however, is usually italicized.

Short-form work includes things like a single poem in a larger collection, a short story, a chapter of a novel, a song, or a TV episode. Then the name of the poetry collection, short story collection, novel, album, or TV series would be in italics.

For instance:

“Once More With Feeling” is my favorite episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer .

Seamus Heaney’s poem “Digging” appears in his first collection, Death of a Naturalist , and deals with themes of heritage and personal identity.

This structure can vary a little bit from one publisher to another. For instance, the Chicago Manual of Style uses italics for long-form work, but the Associated Press Stylebook uses double quotation marks instead.

Specialized or emphatic terms

Sometimes, writers will use quotation marks around language that might be unfamiliar to some readers, or that they want to draw special attention to.

For example:

What’s the difference between “affect” and “effect”?

The colored threading at the top of some books is called a “headband.” Each grouping of sewn pages within the book is called a “signature.”

Something really important to note is that in American punctuation rules, the closing period or comma goes inside the double quotations—as seen above. Other punctuation, like question marks, exclamation points, and semicolons, go outside them.

In European English, periods and commas go outside the closing quotation marks if it’s not part of the original quoted text:

The colored threading at the top of some books is called a ‘headband’. Each grouping of sewn pages within the book is called a ‘signature’.

Sneer quotes

Sneer quotes, also called scare quotes or air quotes, are used to denote verbal irony. When something is in sneer quotes, you know that the speaker or writer is being sarcastic.

So then he told me that he was busy “working” at his “new job.”

Was he really working at his new job? No.

These are the kinds of quotes people sometimes make with their fingers when implying something isn’t credible (that’s why they’re sometimes called “air quotes.”) In European English, the same rule applies about using single quotes and putting closing punctuation outside the closing quotation marks.

Quotation marks are also used around nicknames when they appear in a full name, such as Stan “The Man” Lee, or Al “Scarface” Capone.

Quotation mark rules are easy with a little practice

While the usage of quote marks can feel overwhelming at first, it’s pretty simple when you get used to it. American punctuation almost never uses single quotes, except for nested dialogue—they use double quote marks for everything else. British English uses double quotation marks only in nested quotes.

Whether you’re using single or double quotes, you can use them to set off dialogue, highlight shorter creative works, or to draw attention to unusual, emphatic, or original words.

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Speech Marks Worksheets

Free speech marks worksheets to help your students in English. Speech marks are an important part of grammar and punctuation. If they are used incorrectly, it can have a large impact on the story or text. Teachers must explicitly teach children how and when to use speech marks. From there, children should aim to use them in their writing to enhance their stories. There are a few key rules to remember when using them. Remember, speech marks are used when someone is talking, there is always a form of boundary punctuation before they’re closed, and a new indicates a different character is speaking. Use these free speech marks worksheets to give your students the practice they need to become masters! You’ll see the improvement in their writing in no time at all. These worksheets consist of adding speech marks within sentences and multi-choice questions where students identify correct use of speech marks. They’re ideal for grade 2, 3, 4 & 5, but of course can be used for any grade. Click on the images below to be taken to different pages with worksheets. 

Grade 2 & 3

Grade 3 & 4, grade 4 & 5.

More Speech Marks Worksheets

For more speech marks worksheets, check out K5 Learning . They have a bunch of free worksheets on this English concept. 

Free ANZAC Day Poetry Resources

This free ANZAC Day writing resource includes information about ANZAC Day, a poetry challenge, vocabulary, example poems and a writing template.

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