Direct Quotes
Some rules for direct quotes
1. Use quotation marks at the beginning and end of a direct quotation. Mrs. Marley said, "He is nice." 2. Capitalize the first letter (make it BIG) of a direct quote if it is a complete sentence. Mr. Parker asked, “Did we win?” 3. When the speaker tag comes first, put a comma after the speaker tag. The period at the end of the sentence goes inside the quotation marks. Mrs. Maguire cried, “Eat the peas.” 4. When the speaker tag comes last, put a comma inside the quotation marks and a period at the end of the sentence. “Dogs smell bad,” Mrs. Kane remarked. 5. Sometimes a speaker tag is in the middle of a sentence – use Rule 4 (without the period at the end), then Rule 3, (but don’t capitalize the second part of the quotation). “You can’t imagine,” she added, “what I felt.” 6. If the quotation includes a question mark, or an exclamation point, include it inside the quotation. Mr. Belding yelled, “Stop talking!” |
Quotation Marks Song
This YouTube song might help you remember how to use direct quotes when you write.