Basic Rules for Using Quotation Marks
Quotation marks come in pairs. You need one set of quotation marks at the beginning of the title, dialogue or quote and you need one at the end.
Quotation marks surround dialogue/conversation:
“I had a fantastic time at the zoo,” Jamil said. Sarah said, “I got an A on my math test!”
Jamil whined, “I’m hungry!”
Quotation marks surround some titles, some countries use single quotations:
One of my favorite movies is ‘The Ant Bully.’
My brother really likes Fred Penner’s song ‘Cat Came Back.’
OR "The Ant Bully."
Quotation marks surround some ironies (use with caution):
Jamie is too “busy” to help me!
My sister chums with a bunch of ‘girly girls’.
She says she “forgot” her homework.
Commas and periods go inside of the quotations marks.
Question marks and exclamation marks go inside IF they are part of the quote, if not, they will go outside the quotation marks.
Semi colons and colons always go outside of the quotation marks.