English Punctuation. Quotation marks

English Punctuation. Quotation marks.
Quotation marks are a type of punctuation used to show direct quotes, dialogue, and certain titles or otherwise to set aside words in text. They have a few important functions in grammar that can make them confusing, especially when you’re wondering whether to use double versus single quotation marks. 
In this guide, we explain all the must-know information about quotation marks. We discuss when to use quotation marks in titles, how scare quotes work, and what the difference is between double and single quotation marks. We also share plenty of quotation marks examples so you can see how they’re used.
What is the quotation marks symbol? 
The quotation marks symbol is a type of punctuation used for setting words and passages apart from the rest of the text. Quotation marks, or “quotes” for short, look just like commas, except quotation marks are at the top of a line instead of at the bottom. Double quotation marks are simply two “commas” next to each other, while single quotation marks use only one comma. But, unlike commas, quotation marks can face both directions. The direction a quotation mark faces depends on whether it comes before the quote or after. 
Quote a source directly
One of the most common uses of quotation marks is to indicate a direct quote, a passage that is copied verbatim from another source. If you’re using the same word, sentence, or phrase as another author, put those words in between quotation marks. 
Naturally, there are different types of quotes, but whenever you are copying someone word for word, you need quotation marks. This is most common in nonfiction writing, when a writer uses a phrase or sentence from a preexisting source, usually to support their thesis. 
Stephen Hawking warned that the Higgs boson could potentially lead to “catastrophic vacuum decay” in the universe, caused by “a bubble of the true vacuum expanding at the speed of light.”

2 Show dialogue or transcribe speech

Quotation marks are used to represent speech in written text. In nonfiction, they’re commonly used to transcribe what a person said, as with an interview or eyewitness account. In fiction, they’re used for writing dialogue or whenever a character says something out loud. 
“Where is the emergency room?” he asked the nurse urgently. 
However, if you’re paraphrasing what someone said, you don’t need quotation marks. 
He urgently asked the nurse where the emergency room was. 

3 Signal the titles of short works

Aside from quotes and speech, English also uses quotation marks for the titles of works. Certain types of works—but not all—use quotation marks around their titles so the reader knows they’re a reference. 
Typically, the titles of short-form works like poems, short stories, and songs use quotation marks. Titles of long-form works, like books, films, and stage plays, use italics instead. You can see a complete list of when to use quotation marks for titles and when to use italics in our guide “When to Use Quotation Marks in Titles.” 
Written by Sylvia Plath, “Tulips” is a sad poem with a happy title. 

4 Set apart a word to show irony, sarcasm, or skepticism (scare quotes)

Scare quotes are used to show that the writer doubts the validity of a word. They are commonly used to show irony, sarcasm, or how something is “popularly termed.” They can have the same meaning as the phrase so-called, including suspicious insinuation. 
Scare quotes generally appear as quotation marks around a single word or sometimes a phrase. They also require the proper context so the reader understands why the writer doubts or is qualifying the word’s usage. Scare quotes in writing are the origin of the air quotes gesture in in-person speech. 
My “pet” is really just a stray cat that comes by once a day. 

5 Discuss words as words

If you want to discuss a word, phrase, or letter in writing without using its intended meaning, set it apart with quotation marks. Depending on the styling format, some writers alternatively use italics, without quotation marks, for this purpose (like us on the Grammarly blog). 
The “p” in “pterodactyl” is actually silent. 
Differentiate a nickname from a given name
Last, if you are writing a person’s nickname together with their given name, set the nickname apart with quotation marks so the reader knows it’s not part of their formal name. The standard is to place the quoted nickname between the first name and the surname, although that’s not necessarily a rule. 
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson can’t escape his origins as a wrestler.
If the nickname is how a famous person is most commonly recognized, as with many historical figures, then no quotes are necessary.