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Quotation marks

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on April 29, 2009 at 20:19

In Reply to: Quotation marks posted by ESC on April 28, 2009 at 22:28:

: : Pls tell me the differences between 'x' and "x". My understanding is that in the UK single quotation marks are usually used and double quotation marks are often used to attract attention to ironic words. In the States, it seems that double quotation marks are used without such an implication. This means single quotation marks are rarely used in the US or are they used to imply certain things there?

: In the U.S., single quotes are used for a quote within a quote. She said, "He wrote me a letter and said, 'I'll be home on Friday.'" Double quotes are used for direct quotes -- the exact words of a speaker, either the whole statement or a fragment -- and to enclose words like nicknames or unfamiliar terms.

In the UK these days single quotes are the norm and double quotes are normally used only as "quotes within quotes" - the reverse of US practice. (VSD)

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