What does it mean to put a word in quotation marks?

Category: books and literature poetry
4.4/5 (920 Views . 29 Votes)
Quotation marks around single words can occasionally be used for emphasis, but only when quoting a word or term someone else used. Usually, this implies that the author doesn't agree with the use of the term. When quotation marks are put around a word in this way, they are called scare quotes.



Correspondingly, what do single quotation marks mean?

Single quotation marks are used to mark a quote within a quote or a direct quote in a news story headline. Periods always go inside all quotation marks. A question mark is only placed inside of single quotation marks if the quote within a quote is a question.

Secondly, how do you quote a word in a sentence? Quotation Marks
  1. Rule 1. Use double quotation marks to set off a direct (word-for-word) quotation.
  2. Rule 2a. Always capitalize the first word in a complete quotation, even midsentence.
  3. Rule 2b. Do not capitalize quoted material that continues a sentence.
  4. Rule 3a.
  5. Rule 3b.
  6. Rule 3c.
  7. Rule 4.
  8. Rule 5a.

Additionally, what is the difference between single and double quotation marks?

In common usage, there may be a distinction between the single and double quotation marks in this context; often, single quotation marks are used to embrace single characters, while double quotation marks enclose whole words or phrases[.] Emphasis mine.

How do you insert quotation marks in Word?

Select Proofing. Select AutoCorrect Options to open the AutoCorrect dialog box. Select the AutoFormat As You Type tab. In the Replace As You Type section, select or clear the Straight quotes with smart quotes check box to turn smart quotes on or off.

38 Related Question Answers Found

Can I use single quotation marks to emphasize a word?

Quotation marks around single words can occasionally be used for emphasis, but only when quoting a word or term someone else used. If a word needs to be emphasized but is not being quoted, you should avoid putting the word in quotes and use italics instead.

How do you use the word emphasize in a sentence?

If you need to emphasize a word or a particular fact in a sentence, you can use italics to stress it. That said, italics and other font changes lose their impact if overused. It is best to use such devices sparingly and rely on strong writing and strategic word placement to get your point across.

What is a quotation mark look like?

RULE 1: In the American system, periods and commas always go inside quotation marks (i.e., single AND double). Thus, sentences 1, 2, and 3 should look like this: The suspect told the arresting officer, “I was nowhere near the crime.”

How do you use or in a sentence?

Commas before “Or” When Beginning an Independent Clause
It is considered good style to place a comma before or when it begins an independent clause. An independent clause is a clause which could stand alone as its own sentence, because it has its own subject and verb.

What does double quotation mean?


n. Either of a pair of punctuation marks used primarily to mark the beginning and end of a passage attributed to another and repeated word for word, but also to indicate meanings or glosses and to indicate the unusual or dubious status of a word.

How do you use quotations in a sentence?

Integrating Quotations into Sentences
  1. Introduce the quotation with a complete sentence and a colon.
  2. Use an introductory or explanatory phrase, but not a complete sentence, separated from the quotation with a comma.
  3. Make the quotation a part of your own sentence without any punctuation between your own words and the words you are quoting.

What are the different punctuation marks?

By YourDictionary. There are 14 punctuation marks that are commonly used in English grammar. They are the period, question mark, exclamation point, comma, semicolon, colon, dash, hyphen, parentheses, brackets, braces, apostrophe, quotation marks, and ellipsis.

How do you punctuate a quote at the end of a sentence?

Proper Punctuation – Quotes
  1. If you start by telling who said it, use a comma and then the first quotation mark.
  2. If you put the quote first and then tell who said it, use a comma at the end of the sentence, and then the second quotation mark.
  3. Punctuation always goes inside the quotation marks if it is a direct quote.

What do you call a single quote?

Quotation marks. Quotation marks are also called inverted commas, speech marks, or quotes. Quotation marks can be used in two styles; single (' ' or ') or double (“ ” or "), and can also appear in two different typefaces; either as so called dumb or straight quotes (' or ") or as smart quotes (' ' or “ ”).

What do apostrophes around a word mean?


Scare quotes (also called shudder quotes, sneer quotes, and quibble marks) are quotation marks that a writer places around a word or phrase to signal that they are using it in a non-standard, ironic, or otherwise special sense.

What is a double quotation?

In American English, use double quotation marks to surround a quotation. In British English, you can use single or double quotation marks for that. That's single quotation marks in American English. Double quotation marks can also be used to show sarcasm or to identify words used as words instead of for their meaning.

What does double quotes mean in measurement?

The double prime ( ″ ) represents inches (in) and arcseconds (arcsec). However, for convenience, a ( " ) (double quotation mark) is commonly used. Thus, 3′ 5″ could mean 3 feet and 5 inches (of length), or 3 minutes and 5 seconds (of arc).

Why do we use single inverted commas?

Inverted Commas / Quotation Marks: Also known as speech marks or quotes, inverted commas could be a single or double mark-'z' or “z”. These are mainly used to mark a speaker's speech or a quote by a famous personality. You must have seen these in newspapers, in the plays from your textbooks and in your poems.

Where do we use single and double inverted commas?

When to use inverted commas or quotation marks
They are used to enclose direct speech or a quotation. Which ones you use is up to you. One school of thought says that double inverted commas (“they look like this”) should be used for direct speech, and the single ones ('they look like this') for quotations.

How do you use inverted commas?


Inverted commas are punctuation marks that are used in writing to show where speech or a quotation begins and ends. They are usually written or printed as ' ' or “ ”. Inverted commas are also sometimes used around the titles of books, plays, or songs, or around a word or phrase that is being discussed.

What do words in inverted commas mean?

in inverted commas. phrase. If you say in inverted commas after a word or phrase, you are indicating that it is inaccurate or unacceptable in some way, or that you are quoting someone else. [British] They're asked to make objective, in inverted commas, evaluations of these statements.

How do you quote what someone said?

Quoting a portion of dialogue: If you quote something a character says, use double quotation marks on the outside ends of the quotation to indicate that you are quoting a portion of the text. Use single quotation marks inside the double quotation marks to indicate that someone is speaking.