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Brackets Parentheses and Quotation Marks
And then she said, "I have questions about parentheses, brackets, and quotation marks!" This category is for you!
1,263 Questions
Do titles of a TV shows require quotation marks?
Titles of TV shows are underlined (or italicized), and specific episodes of that TV show have quotation marks.
Example:
I just watched the episode called "Naughty Nautical Neighbors" of Spongebob Squarepants.
How do you use quotations in the middle of a sentence?
Let's use the first line of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address as an example. If you are using the FULL quote, it stands by itself, in quotes:
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. (Lincoln)"
If using just a piece of the quote in your own sentence, it would be something like this:
Lincoln stated that the new nation was "...dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. (Lincoln)"
If you are using a smaller quotation in the middle of your sentence, it would be:
Lincoln's statement that "...all men are created equal..." still applies to our society today.
If you want to start your sentence with the quote, but you are not using the beginning of the quote--so there is no First-letter capital letter, you must show that YOU made it a capital letter, such as:
...[A]ll men are created equal," Lincoln stated, but men of color today still struggle to be equals with other men.
NOTE 1: Do not use bold on quotes. Bold was used here to make it easier to see.
NOTE 2: You must use ellipsis, 3 dots, when you leave out a portion of a quote, to show there were words before, or after, the piece you used.
NOTE 3: While it is easiest to just use a full quotation, sometimes part of the quote has nothing to do with what you are writing. Sometimes a quote contains a part that does not add to what you are writing now. For example, few students would need to include "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation..." at the beginning of one of their sentences.
NOTE 4: You should use the shortest amount from another author/speaker. That is "fair use", but using a lot from an author/speaker means the reader cannot see what YOU think.
NOTE 5: Sometimes, it is better to simply paraphrase, to put the quote in your own words. Example of your words might be: At Gettysburg, Lincoln described that the US was born from the proposition of equality. Though his words do not say women or races, this equality applies to all human beings, regardless of gender or race.
Can you use double quotations to emphasize a word?
Traditionally, you would use italics rather than quotation marks. However, it is a stylistic choice. For academic writing though, stick with italics to emphasize words.
Do movies titles require italics or quotation marks?
Movie titles require either italics or underlining.
Use brackets to indicate parenthetical information within a parenthetical expression. E.g. During a lengthy visit to Argentina, Roberts and an assistant (James Smith, who was later to publish hiw own monograph on a South American coutry [Brazil] spent weeks...)...
Can you have a question without a question mark?
no
Yes. A question may be defined as "A sentence worded or expressed so as to elicit information". This includes "What time is it?", but also includes sentences that are superficially declarative statements or imperative commands but are in essence questions. Examples include, "I want to know what you think about x.", and "Tell me your favorite color."
Do you put a comma before quotation marks around a song title?
No, that wouldn't be necessary.
Here is the exception. If you are using an appositive phrase, you will need to use a comma before and after the song title.
Example:
In their most recent song, "The God that Failed," Metallica rocks.
When citing a short film is the title underlined italicized or in quotation marks?
Following the model "Novel = underlined/italicized Short story = quotation marks," short films require quotation marks.
Do statistics need quotation marks in expository essays?
No, but the source(s) for all statistics quoted or used must be given.
How do you use the word already in quotation marks?
If a word is in quotation marks, and you're quoting it, use single quotation marks to indicate an embedded quotation.
Why does my asterisk key type quotation marks on my keyboard?
There is some way on your computer to reassign keys. Someone has reassigned that particular key to that function. You may be able to use the help function to find the program that reassigns keys and change it back. It could also be a virus in your computer. You might get it by running an anti-virus program. Sometimes viruses make themselves known by such tricks. In Windows OS Your keyboard language is assigned from the control panel. Before that it is assigned in the BIOS. Check both settings.
When is a period put inside Parentheses?
Use a period inside a parenthetical when the full sentence inside the parentheses ends.
How do you use a quotation mark with a comma?
'Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary', published in 1983, contains a very useful 'Handbook of Style' with a large section covering 'Punctuation'. There are two separate and very detailed sub-sections for quotation marks: 'Quotation Marks, Double' and 'Quotation Marks, Single'. There is so much in it - all of it very concise and interesting - that it cannot all be summarized here!
But, with its examples shown enclosed within parentheses, this clip may be useful to be aware of:
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[Single quotation marks]
1. enclose a quotation within a quotation in American usage.
(The witness said, "I distinctly heard him say, 'Don't be late.' and then heard the door close.")
2. are sometimes used in place of double quotation marks in British usage.
(The witness said, 'I distinctly heard him say, "Don't be late." and then heard the door close.')
NOTE: When both single and double quotation marks occur at the end of a sentence, the period typically falls within both sets of marks.
(The witness said, "I distinctly heard him say, 'Don't be late.' ")
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In England some schools teach pupils to use single quotes to signal to other readers that some text is not just ordinary plain words but is the name of a specific identifiable entity such as 'My watchlist', the 'Save button', etc.
Also that double quotes can be useful to stress that something is ironic or contentious. For example in this sentence:
Vandals are undesirable "contributors" to WikiAnswers.
its like this
family groups who earn about less than 25,000 per year are located in the social bracket where(6% taxes)
the next tax bracket is 8.75% for the following family group 100,000 grands per year
in this example the social bracket is the family group
What is a parenthetical element?
A parenthetical element in a sentence is a non-essential phrase that is sometimes set off by a comma. It is called non-essential because, if you removed it from the sentence, the gist of the sentence would remain the same.
Do you put the title of your essay in quotation marks?
If you are writing something else and referring to an essay you have written, you would put the title of that essay in quotation marks, but the title at the top of your essay (like the title of any document) should not have quotation marks.
What is the correct usage of square brackets?
Square brackets are used for citations in formal pieces of text. Instead of using normal brackets, the square brackets signal something that has been added in after publishing.
Do you put quotation marks around TV episodes?
Yes. For episodes you use quotation marks; for TV shows you underline or italicize.
Why put parenthesis in a sentence?
To explain something within the sentence without finishing the sentence before explaining.
Do you put the quotations after the period for a title of a painting?
yes you do ======== The comma and the period are always placed inside the quotation marks.
When should you use brackets in a quotation?
You can use brackets in a quotation when the quotation doesn't quite match up with the sentence you've put it in, there are words missing from the original quote that are required for it to make grammatical sense, or if you would prefer to use a pronoun in place of a name and vice versa, or when you wish to clarify a pronoun by including the noun it originally referred to.
Example:
I appreciate it [the honor], but I must refuse.
Should a movie be underlined or in quotation marks?
Underlined. Many people make the mistake of presenting the answers, "underlining" and "italicizing" as if the correct answer is one or the other of those two choices. Actually, underlining OR italicizing, for example, movie titles are BOTH acceptable. Before the age of word processors and computers when all writing was done by hand, it was impossible to italicize anything. As such, the former standard for things now routinely italicized was to underline them. Although now somewhat antiquated, it is still acceptable to underline something that otherwise would be italicized in almost every situation. So, the answer to the question should be; "underline" OR "italicize", with the other possible answer (incorrect to use in this scenario) being to put quotation marks around it.
