Lesson 6 Quotation Marks with Direct Quotations

Essential Question

When are our own words not enough, and how do we show when we are using someone else’s words?

Grammar in the World

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What Do I Know?

What do you already know about how to let readers know when someone is speaking? Use this interactive exercise to find out.

Building Blocks

Grammar is a complex system and structure of language. Mizzou Academy Grammar Lab spotlights one skill (or block) at a time, but it’s often helpful to see how a skill works together with other, related blocks to build the language structure as a whole. You may find the following resource topics helpful as context for this lesson:

Learn About Quotation Marks in Direct Quotes

You use direct quotations to show when someone else (not you!) is talking. This comes in handy in lots of scenarios:

Fiction writing--to show when an imaginary character is speaking.
Narrative writing--to show exactly what someone says.
Informative writing--to show specifically what you read or heard from someone else; this quoted language bolsters the development of your writing piece.
Bonus--to maintain academic integrity; quoting others’ words helps you give credit to the original speakers and authors.

There are two simple rules to remember when using quotation marks with direct quotations.

Remember, quotation marks almost always come in pairs. If there is a beginning quotation mark, it usually will be followed at some point by an ending quotation mark.
Short direct quotations can live within a paragraph. Long direct quotations (longer than four lines) are set off as a block quote.

*Note: Block quotes DO NOT contain quotation marks. The indention lets us know we are reading quoted material.

Short Quotation

Imbed the short quotation within the body of the paragraph.

Example

According to Marvel.com, Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy was turned “into a living weapon with cybernetic enhancements” by the evil Thanos.

Long Quotation

Use block style to set off the long quotation.

Example

According to Marvel.com, Gamora, from Guardians of the Galaxy,

was a little girl when Thanos and his army invaded her homeworld, wiping out half the population. Gamora was separated from her mother in the attack, but Thanos himself took a liking to the young girl, giving her a blade as a present and shielding her from seeing the massacre of her people. Taking her in as his adoptive daughter, Thanos would go on to turn her into a living weapon with cybernetic enhancements. As she grew up, Thanos would force Gamora and her adoptive sister Nebula to fight one another, but referred to Gamora—who won every fight—as his favorite daughter.

This is how Gamora and Nebula end up as enemies and nearly destroy each other in the series.

Speech Tag

Another tool that comes in handy with direct quotations is the speech tag. Speech tags help us show who is speaking and how they are speaking.

For example, we have our commonly used tags:

she said
he asked
they wondered
she yelled
he whispered
they cried

You can also get more creative in your speech tag. Your goal is to identify who is speaking and give readers a good idea of how they are saying it.

she advised
he apologized
they blurted out
she teased
he mumbled
they scolded

You will want to use speech tags sparingly. Often, your narration and characterization can do the job of telling us how someone is speaking. Still, speech tags are a good way to draw attention to a quote.

Examples

Here are some examples of how to correctly use and punctuate direct quotations.

When the quoted material is a complete sentence, capitalize the first letter of the direct quote.

✰“It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me,” Batman asserted.
✰Thor thundered, “The answers you seek shall be yours once I claim what’s mine."

When the quoted material is only a part of the original piece’s entire sentence, do not capitalize the first letter of the direct quote.

✰Dr. Octopus said that intelligence “needs to be used for the greater good of people.”
✰According to Iron Man, it’s not the powers that create a superhero, it’s “the path they choose."

If the quoted material is a complete sentence that comes before or after a speech tag, capitalize the first letter of the direct quotation.

✰Iron Man laughed, “Listen, smile, agree, and then do whatever you were gonna do anyway.”

✰ “The strength of this country isn’t in buildings of brick and steel. It’s in the hearts of those who have sworn to fight for its freedom,” urged Captain America.

If the quoted material begins the sentence, is interrupted by a speech tag, and then continues, capitalize the first letter of the quotation but not the second part that comes after the speech tag.

✰ “It’s about what you believe,” explained Wonder Woman, “and I believe only in love. Only love will truly save the world.”

✰ “Wakanda survived for so long,” warned Okoye, “by only fighting when absolutely necessary.”

In almost all cases, the punctuation of a sentence comes before the ending quotation mark. This is always true for commas and periods.

✰“I am your king now,” roared T’Challa.
✰“Just because someone stumbles and loses their path,” emphasized Professor Charles Xavier, “doesn't mean they can’t be saved.”

For sentences that are questions, the question mark may come before or after the ending quotation mark.

- If the entire sentence is a question, but the direct quotation is a statement, the question mark comes after the ending quotation mark.

✰Who first said, “With great power comes great responsibility”?

✰ When did Wonder Woman say, “So long as life remains, there is always hope”?

- If the direct quotation is a question, the question mark comes before the ending quotation mark.
  ✰The Shadow wondered, “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?”
  
  ✰My best friend asked, “Do you want to watch Spiderman or Batman tonight?”
- If the direction quotation is a question within a sentence that is a question, the question mark goes before the ending quotation, and no extra question mark is added.

✰Did the Shadow wonder, “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?”

✰Why did my best friend ask, “Do you want to watch Spiderman or Batman tonight?”

Do I Get It?

What have you learned about punctuating direct quotations in writing? Use this interactive to check your understanding.

Look at each pair of sentences with quotation marks. Choose the sentence that uses correct punctuation.