Quotation marks are punctuation marks used in pairs in several writing systems to set off direct speech, a quotation, or a phrase. They are also known as quotes, quote marks, speech marks, inverted commas, or talking marks. An opening quotation mark and a closing quotation mark, which may or may not be the same character, make up the pair.

The double quotation mark is derived from a marginal notation used in fifteenth-century manuscript annotations to signify a significant paragraph (not necessarily a quotation); the notation was placed in the page's outside margin and repeated alongside each line of the passage. The Milanese Renaissance humanist Francesco Filelfo highlighted literal and suitable quotes with oblique double dashes on the left margin of each line in his edition of Aristotle's works, which were published in 1483 or 1484. Until then, the author had the option of highlighting or not highlighting literal quotations. Loans that were not verbal were noted on the edge. Following the release of Filelfo's edition,

Quotation marks in American literature are usually the double form (the primary style). Single quotation marks are used when one pair of quotation marks is used inside another pair of quotation marks. "Didn't she answer 'I like red best' when I questioned her wine preferences?" he asked his visitors, for example. Double quotation marks are used again if another set of quotation marks is nested inside single quotation marks, and they alternate as needed (though this is rarely done).

The fundamental purpose of quote marks is to demarcate and convey exact phrase (spoken or written) that belongs to someone else. In fiction and poetry, the quote mark is also employed to designate speech activities. Successful usage of quote marks is a practical defense against inadvertent plagiarism and wonderful practice in academic honesty because you will most likely utilize them while working with outside sources. The following are the normal guidelines for using quotation marks in the United States, though it's worth noting that usage regulations for this punctuation differ by country.

Quote, marks are always used in pairs. Do not open a quotation and then forget to close it when the quoted information is finished.

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

"The extraterrestrial spaceship appeared right before my own two eyes," Mr. Johnson, who was working in his field that morning, stated.

Do not use a capital letter when the quoted content is a fragment or merely a portion of the source material's whole sentence.

Despite seeing strange things on the property, Mr. Johnson claims that the spaceship "definitely takes the cake" when it comes to unexplained activity.

If a direct quotation is interrupted in the middle of a sentence, the second half of the citation should not be capitalized.

Mr. Johnson added, "I didn't see an actual alien being, but I sure wish I had."

Note how the period or comma punctuation always occurs before the final quotation mark in all of the examples above. It's also worth noting that this punctuation guideline may alter whether you're using MLA or another type of documentation.

When quoting text that contains a spelling or grammar issue, you should replicate the error verbatim.

"It's made me question the existence of extraterrestrials [sic]," Mr. Johnson says of the event.