Questions tagged [quotes]

For questions related to a fairly well-known sentence or phrase that is widely understood to have originated in a publicly available text or speech, in many cases attributed to a famous person (or multiple famous people). See also the "quotations" tag.

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49 votes
4 answers
12k views

How should I punctuate around quotes where the punctuation required by the quote interferes with the punctuation of the sentence?

The American convention in quotations is (typically) to place punctuation inside quoted text. But I always run into situations where the punctuation of the quote interferes with the punctuation of the ...
Robert Cartaino's user avatar
69 votes
4 answers
22k views

When should end punctuation go inside quotes?

I have been/am being taught that end punctuation should always go inside quotes. For example, you are supposed to write: Marvin thought it was "awful." The problem is I do not see how does this ...
houbysoft's user avatar
  • 1,261
43 votes
2 answers
374k views

What is the proper use of [square brackets] in quotes?

I sometimes see square brackets used while quoting. My assumption is that they are replacing a pronoun with what the object of the pronoun, but I never know for sure because I don't usually get to ...
Dan's user avatar
  • 1,051
5 votes
2 answers
5k views

How are embedded quotations used? [closed]

How would embedded quotations be used when quoting from passages/sources within an essay? What would be the difference between normal quotations and embedded quotations?
JFW's user avatar
  • 4,767
15 votes
3 answers
3k views

How much punctuation is appropriate when ending a sentence with a full-sentence quotation?

When you end a sentence with a quotation that is itself a full sentence, do you use the quotation's punctuation? The containing sentence's? Both? Something else? I think this might be best ...
Pops's user avatar
  • 5,955
13 votes
5 answers
139k views

How to add contextualizing text to a quotation?

How do you add text which provides context to a quote? For example, consider if I were to quote someone as having said: This is unacceptable! Were that the whole quote, can I add any text to the ...
Richard JP Le Guen's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
133k views

When quoting a quotation, how do you handle the double quotes?

Assume there is original source text: This restaurant is amazing with "delicious lasagna" and great service. Make sure you go 6-7pm for the quietest times. I want to quote "delicious lasagna" ...
TMC's user avatar
  • 153
1 vote
1 answer
28k views

Do I add quotes around my thoughts?

He staggered in, late as usual, his hair this way and his collar the other. His socks were as mismatched as were his principles. I thought to myself, here comes yet another disastrous sales meeting. ...
Nigel J's user avatar
  • 24.5k
0 votes
1 answer
87 views

Changing Quotes

What is the term for changing a quote? For example, changing 'Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?' to 'Who knows what mischief lurks in the hearts of children?'
M. Lawler's user avatar
15 votes
2 answers
45k views

Is Robert Oppenheimer's phrase “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” grammatical in English? [duplicate]

Is physicist Robert Oppenheimer's phrase “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” grammatical in English? Why not "becoming" or "now I become"?
Anixx's user avatar
  • 2,828
14 votes
3 answers
253k views

If I quote only the middle part of a sentence, do I use ellipses?

For example, if Peter is my source, should I say: Peter mentioned his '... unquenchable thirst, a fatigued body...' as being part of the reason for his actions. Or would I have to leave out the ...
Chris's user avatar
  • 253
10 votes
1 answer
80k views

How to use quotes in a list with commas

This is a sentence that I wrote: In the text, words such as greenbacks, ironclads, and blockade were used. However, I think there should be quotations around the words. How would I place them? ...
Gkhan14's user avatar
  • 101
5 votes
1 answer
1k views

Punctuation within quotes

When I was at school I was told that a quote should end with a comma. For example: "The car is on the road," said Tom. "No it isn't," replied Dick. "He's right — it's over there!" said Harry. ...
Paul Michaels's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
12k views

Use quotation marks for internal monologue?

In a similar vein to my previous question on styling written quotes, should I use quotation marks for interior monologue in narrative writing? It is common to use italics to denote thoughts: This ...
The English Chicken's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
524 views

Quotations and Square Brackets

I have a question. If I am quoting a quote which has square brackets in it already, but I want to add square brackets because there are spelling mistakes so I want to add "[sic]". Do I just add it to ...
user87892's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
556 views

Nested/embedded quotations (quoting quotes) [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: How are embedded quotations used? I'm having some trouble with this. Usually, I would quote with doubles, and then singles within. But this is becoming a bit confusing and ...
infmz's user avatar
  • 1
44 votes
5 answers
141k views

How correct is "quote, unquote" and where does its usage come from?

In the following quote, it seems (to me at least) quite difficult to figure out what exactly is being quote: “The best cure—quote, unquote—for aging is slowing disease,” Daniel Kraft, the chair of [...
ChrisR's user avatar
  • 583
37 votes
7 answers
137k views

"None of us is" vs "None of us are", Which is Correct? [duplicate]

Background We have a motivational poster in our office that says: None of us is as smart as all of us. I think that it's grammatically incorrect, and here is my reasoning: All of the tigers have ...
Kelderic's user avatar
  • 472
13 votes
3 answers
17k views

What is it called when you change a well known quote to suit your subject? [duplicate]

For example, for the original quote we shall use, "One swallow does not a summer make". If someone were to say "One good quote does not a philosopher make" (No dig at Aristotle intended...), or "A ...
insidious_elk's user avatar
12 votes
3 answers
52k views

How to deal with quoting a grammatical error?

What should you do if you’re quoting someone, and that quote has a grammatical error? Say for example that I’m quoting this line from the American Pregnancy Association: The term used for a ...
chama's user avatar
  • 457
9 votes
2 answers
46k views

Use quotation marks or italics for written quotes?

In narrative writing, should I use quotation marks or italics when I quote something someone wrote? I would go with italics to differentiate written from spoken quotes: “I know who the killer is,” ...
The English Chicken's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
27k views

Are software titles italicized?

The titles of freestanding works (books, movies, plays, albums, etc.) are italicized; smaller parts within these works (chapters in a book, articles in a magazine, songs within an album) are not (they ...
The English Chicken's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
2k views

Straight quotes vs. curly quotes in formal writing [closed]

Should I use “ or " in very formal English writing?
qazwsx's user avatar
  • 2,445
4 votes
3 answers
47k views

Do I need quote marks when I quote myself? [closed]

Hello language lovers, English isn't my first language and I would like to know if I need to use quotation marks when I quote something I said in the past.
Bastien Bastiens's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
207 views

How should blockquoted quotations be formatted?

If I quote someone in a context where a blockquote is appropriate and there isn't lead-in prose which identifies the source, how should it be typeset? I'm quoting a saying or remark, as would be done ...
user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
55k views

A saying for something that's good but also has a downside

I'm trying to transition from a list of pros to a list of cons, and would like to have some sort of transition quote. Something in the form of, "But, alas, (((something something quote quote)))" ...
kalaracey's user avatar
  • 330
2 votes
2 answers
44k views

Punctuations for quotes in a list

"make a monkey of someone", " don't monkey with that lock!", and "where have you been, you little monkey!" are examples of sentences where monkey have different meaning. Should the comma be placed ...
apaderno's user avatar
  • 59.2k
0 votes
2 answers
2k views

direct quote and adding a remark

I am currently writing an academic text and need to directly quote/cite text from a paper. What is best practice when I need to add a remark/note to the quote? For instance, I would do it like this: ...
beta's user avatar
  • 217
21 votes
2 answers
192k views

Origin of "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."?

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. - Confucius What is the origin, and evolution, of this popular quote? It has a nice air of pseudo-profundity to it; one problem ...
congusbongus's user avatar
  • 3,619
15 votes
10 answers
86k views

Meaning and interpretation of Bilbo's "half as well" quote

In The Lord of The Rings, Bilbo says the following to his assembled guests at his eleventy first birthday party: I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half ...
Mark B's user avatar
  • 507
14 votes
4 answers
27k views

Quotation ascribed to Benjamin Franklin, "We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid."

There is a cottage industry in the United States of manufacturing quotations and ascribing them to the American Founding Fathers. A recent one, "We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to ...
Michael Owen Sartin's user avatar
13 votes
2 answers
177k views

Origin of "do not argue with idiots" [closed]

What is the origin of the phrase “do not argue with idiots”? Please cite some credible references. From googling around, I found these three variations. One came from the Bible but I couldn’t find ...
annawie's user avatar
  • 500
12 votes
6 answers
26k views

How are "yes" and "no" formatted in sentences?

If I am expecting an answer from a question and wish to state my prediction, do I need to use quotes around a simple "yes" or "no"? I think the answer is no. / I think the answer ...
MrHen's user avatar
  • 35.7k
8 votes
1 answer
11k views

Using Multiple Sics in One Quote

If a quote is rife with errors, can a single [sic] be used at the end of the quote rather than after each error? She wrote, "Your [sic] making me weigh [sic] to [sic] sleepy." She wrote, "Your ...
Blockhead's user avatar
7 votes
5 answers
20k views

"When I'm sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead"

In "How I met your mother" TV series, there is a character Barney Stinson, who is the author of this semi-popular quote: When I'm sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. [sic!] Obviously, ...
SingerOfTheFall's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
198k views

Where does the period go in an MLA in-text citation?

I've always been confused when citing like: "The windows misted over from the heat and the smoke inside.” (Hemingway 1) Does the period go inside the quotes (as above)? Or after the citation (as ...
Vervious's user avatar
  • 565
6 votes
1 answer
466 views

Jackson = $$son: pun or topical reference

Alfred Bester's short story The Demolished Man (the original version serialized in Galaxy magazine in 1952, not the novel published in 1963) may have been the first instance of SMS-speak, featuring ...
Gilles 'SO- stop being evil''s user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
4k views

Attribution: Quoting a Fictional Character

Famously: "Try not. Do or do not. There is no try." -- Yoda Thing is, this is from a movie. A writer wrote it and a voice actor spoke it. Is there a correct form of attribution for a ...
Bob Kaufman's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
938 views

Is it acceptable to use 'that' followed by a direct quote?

New York Times: Even before President Obama declared this month that “I have Israel’s back” in its escalating confrontation with Iran, pro-Israel figures like the evangelical Christian leader ...
Armen Ծիրունյան's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
344 views

Where does the [sic] go in this sentence?

I'm quoting a sentence that has an error in it. ...visitors need to need to apply for a temporary residence permit... I don't want to correct the error, I want to quote it as it's written. But I ...
Fiksdal's user avatar
  • 3,295
3 votes
1 answer
23k views

How to use possessive apostrophe with words in quotation marks?

How to us possessive apostrophe with words in quotes? For example, ...a few days later I discovered that those five little boys were not that well-behaved (as I firstly thought). In fact they were ...
brilliant's user avatar
  • 8,970
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

A Question On Relative Pronouns & Conjunctions

I came across this quote from the movie RocknRolla: Oh, beauty is a beguiling call to death and I'm addicted to the sweet pitch of its siren. That that starts sweet ends bitter, and that which ...
user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
664 views

Word or phrase that describes when a fictitious character quotes real writing/speech etc

Is there a word or phrase to describe when a fictional character quotes/references something that exists in the real (our) 'universe' (but can also therefore exist in the fictional 'universe'). Either ...
ja_him's user avatar
  • 155
2 votes
3 answers
2k views

What's the rule for punctuating quoted words or phrases?

Please bear with me as I am not an English expert, only an aspiring amateur! I'm mostly aware of the rules regarding punctuation and quotes. Something like the following sentence makes sense to me: ...
user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
463 views

Period placement in a sentence containing both parantheses and quotes

Which of the following is correct: (This is a "test"). (This is a "test.") (This is a "test".)
Julie's user avatar
  • 11
1 vote
3 answers
734 views

Quoting poor English in a news article? I don't often see "[sic]"

I don't stumble upon "[sic]" as I read newspapers. I think it's safe to assume that plenty of those who are quoted in articles have botched their grammar more often than not. Here's what I'm asking: ...
Mr_Spock's user avatar
  • 293
1 vote
4 answers
103 views

Any existentialist quotes for the acceptance that life is difficult and meaningless, but we must persevere? [closed]

I'm looking for a quote that illustrates the difficulty of life but reassures that the difficulty will come to pass as long as we have the willpower. Particularly, maybe something slightly ...
Jonathan Lee's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
12k views

What is the proper way to quote multiple questions within one sentence without using bullets

Here is the sentence I am working with: Some of the reflection questions included are “What do you think is happening here?”; “How do you think the boy to the right feels? Why?”; and “What should the ...
Amber G's user avatar
  • 19
1 vote
1 answer
5k views

Is Oppenheimer's quote "I am become death" grammatically correct? [duplicate]

After J. Robert Oppenheimer made his discoveries of nuclear energy, he said a quote from Bhagavad-Gita, it goes as follows I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. Is this proper English?
Mohamed Essa's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
678 views

Use or omit ellipsis when using part of a quotation at the start of a sentence?

Full quotation: "I love the president and it's an honour to be here", said Anthony Scaramucci, President Trump's new White House communications director. Example 1 (ellipsis): "...it's an honour to ...
user avatar