Problems with Punctuation: Inverted commas

Inverted commas, also known as quotation marks,

or quotes in informal language.

Do you know how to use inverted commas? And do you know if and where to add commas? And what about using single inverted commas?

Well, let's have a look!

When the words spoken come before the word of saying, they are followed by a comma.

...but if the words spoken are a question or exclamation, use a question mark or an exclamation mark, not a comma.

When the verb of saying and its subject start the sentence, they are followed by a comma.

When the spoken sentence is interrupted to insert a verb of saying and its subject, one comma is needed before breaking off the spoken words and another before continuing.

What about single inverted commas?

You can use single inverted commas instead of double ones, but single ones look rather like apostrophes, which can cause confusion.

Sometimes you may need to use two sets of inverted commas in one sentence. This happens when you write a title or a quote someone's words in the middle of a sentence that is already a quotation. The clearest thing to do is to use double inverted commas for the outer marks and single inverted commas for the inner marks.

Remember!

When finishing the quotation, the punctuation mark (comma, fullstop, question/exclamation mark, etc.) must go inside the inverted commas.