Word of the Day
Fervid
adjective | FER-vid
Fervid is a somewhat formal word describing people or things that express, or are expressive of, strong feelings. “The fervid love letter he wrote to his partner beautifully conveyed his deep affection and devotion.”
Today’s writing tip discusses the use of quotation marks to distinguish dialogue, parts of compositions, phrases as phrases, scare quotes, and epithets.
For Dialogue
Quotation marks are placed around speech in fiction (to distinguish it from attribution and narrative) and nonfiction (for the same reasons, in addition to emphasizing that it is recorded verbatim and not a paraphrase of the actual wording).
Quotation marks are also appropriate for conjectural speech (for example, “What if he says, ‘We’re using John’s plan instead’?) or for representing the idea of speech (“People often say ‘myself’ when they should say ‘me’).
Note: In examples in this and other posts, quoted material is often enclosed in single rather than double quotation marks because we use double quotation marks to frame the examples.
In American English, other than in special cases such as setting off terms in botany, linguistics, and philosophy, this is the only general purpose for single quotation marks.
For Parts of Compositions
Note: The following rules pertain to when titles of parts of compositions are referenced in a written narrative, not to their use as headings in the source material itself.
Quotation marks identify article titles in publications and chapter titles in books to distinguish the parts of the whole from the whole itself. (Italicize the publication titles themselves; one exception is unpublished manuscripts, the titles of which are also enclosed in quotation marks.)
Similarly, titles of episodes of television programs, as well as those of other audiovisual (or audio-only) presentations such as podcasts, should be enclosed in quotation marks, while program titles are italicized. Song titles, too, are placed in quotation marks to distinguish them from album titles, which are italicized.
Quotation marks also identify poems, essays, and short stories to distinguish their titles from those of the anthologies of which they may be (or might originally have been) a part. In online contexts, titles of blog entries, and those of sections of websites, are enclosed in quotation marks. Titles of speeches, as well as those of talks and panels that are part of conferences and other formal meeting events, are also enclosed in quotation marks.
For a Phrase as a Phrase
Although self-referential words are italicized (as in “Moon and month are related”), phrases as phrases are enclosed in quotation marks (as in “‘Reared its ugly head’ is a cliché.”)
For Scare Quotes
Words and phrases are sometimes enclosed in quotation marks to signal that they are being used in a special sense, though this usage is best reserved for ironic emphasis or to clarify that the writer is using but not endorsing the term. Employing such emphasis for slang is not advised.
For Epithets
When epithets, or nicknames, are used in isolation, do not enclose them in quotation marks (“The film was released four months after the death of the King of Pop”).
But do so when they appear within or immediately after the person’s actual name: “John ‘Duke’ Wayne,” “Erwin Rommel, ‘the Desert Fox.’” (But compare the latter with “Alexander the Great lived to be only thirty-three,” in which “Alexander the Great” is so styled because the epithet is integrated with the name, not set off by punctuation.)
Today’s Quiz
Question 1:
Which of the following sentences is using quotation marks correctly for scare quotes?
a) “Her ‘modern’ approach to the project was a little too chaotic for the team.”
b) “His ‘fervid’ speech left everyone speechless.”
c) “She ‘insisted’ on buying the most expensive item on the menu.”
d) “Her ‘culinary’ skills were nothing short of disastrous.”
Question 2:
Which statement correctly uses quotation marks for a phrase as a phrase?
a) He said, “I can’t believe you ‘threw in the towel.’”
b) “I ‘rise and shine’ when I start my day.”
c) “’Step up to the plate’ is often used in sports analogies.”
d) “She ‘talked a blue streak’ the entire drive.
Question 3:
Which sentence correctly uses quotation marks for epithets?
a) “‘Liz’ Taylor,was a legendary actress.”
b) “The movie featured John ‘Duke’ Wayne.”
c) “Erwin Rommel was also known as the ‘Desert Fox.'”
d) “The ‘King of Pop’ died in 2009.”
Question 4:
Identify the sentence that correctly formats titles of compositions and parts of compositions:
a) “The chapter ‘A Long Day’ in ‘War and Peace’ is particularly moving.”
b) “One of my favorite songs is ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ from Queen’s album A Night at the Opera.”
c) “The episode titled Bart Gets an F from the series “The Simpsons” is unforgettable.”
d) “I loved the essay Mortality and Morality from the anthology Examined Lives.”
Question 5:
Which sentence correctly utilizes quotation marks for dialogue?
a) “He said, Washington is a beautiful city to live in.”
b) “She whispered, ‘I have always admired your fervid dedication.”
c) “They shouted, we demand justice!”
d) “The teacher asked, ‘Have you finished the assignment’?”
The correct answers are as follows:
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a) Her “modern” approach to the project was a little too chaotic for the team. (This sentence correctly uses scare quotes for ironic emphasis.)
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c) “Step up to the plate” is often used in sports analogies. (This sentence correctly uses quotation marks to isolate the phrase within the bigger context of the sentence.)
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c) “The movie featured John ‘Duke’ Wayne.” (This sentence correctly uses quotation marks to highlight the epithet used for John Wayne.)
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b) One of my favorite songs is “Bohemian Rhapsody” from Queen’s album A Night at the Opera. (This sentence correctly places the song title in quotation marks and italicizes the album title.)
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b) She whispered, “I have always admired your fervid dedication.” (This sentence correctly uses quotation marks to separate the quoted dialogue from the rest of the sentence.)
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