Correcting Quotation Mark Errors - GMAT Verbal

In American English, single quotation marks ('') are used within double quotation marks (""), with punctuation appearing before any quotation marks.

The use of quotation marks in this sentence is incorrect, as a quotation within a quotation should always be set apart by single quotation marks inside the standard double quotation marks. The second mark must be changed to a single quotation mark and another single quotation mark should be inserted before the final double quotation mark. "Abraham Lincoln said, 'We must bind up the nation's wounds,'" the professor noted" is the only answer choice that correctly makes these changes.

Double quotation marks are conventionally used to indicate speech, and commas are conventionally used inside the quotation marks to separate a line of speech from its dialogue tag. Double quotation marks (without commas) are also conventionally used around a word or term to indicate discussion of that word or term in speech. However, because “prejudice” and “bigotry” are already within a set of double quotation marks here, single quotation marks must be used.

Double quotation marks are conventionally used to indicate speech, and commas are conventionally used inside the quotation marks to separate a line of speech from its subsequent dialogue tag. Because “‘Can you?’” is a separate sentence from “‘I can’t believe he ate the entire cake,’ she said,’” there must be a period after “she said” to separate the two sentences.

“I was too tired to go out” is an indirect quotation; we know this because it’s preceded by the word “that.” Since indirect quotations don’t require quotation marks, and since a comma is needed before the conjunction (“but”) to separate these two independent clauses, the correct answer is “I told my friends that I was too tired to go out, but really I just wanted to catch up on my favorite TV series.”

Double quotation marks are conventionally used to indicate speech, and question marks are conventionally used inside the quotation marks to indicate the end of an interrogative sentence. Double quotation marks (without commas) are also conventionally used to indicate skepticism about a word or term, as with “fact sheet” here. However, because “fact sheet” is already within a set of double quotation marks, single quotation marks must be used.

Punctuation should always go on the inside of quotation marks. Compare the following two sentences:

"We have to leave".

"We have to leave."

The second sentence is correct.

When writing or reading dialogue, the spoken line should always end with a comma before the action words; furthermore, single quotes should only be used for quotes within other quotes. In normal cases, use double quotes.

In any piece of writing in quotation marks, even slogans or mottos, the punctuation that follows the final word must be placed inside the final quotation mark, excepting semicolons. Placing punctuation outside the quotation mark, as it is in this sentence, is incorrect. Only one answer choice, "the new charity campaign was “Making a Difference,” but the constant financial scandals," appropriately fixes the sentence.

When a person's exact words are reproduced, quotation marks are required. When the quoted text contains a quotation, then single quotation marks are used to indicate that quotation. Also, when quoting, it is correct to include punctuation within the quotation marks. So, the correct version of the sentence is:

Thomas slumped in his chair, turned to me and said, "When I was young my grandfather told me that 'when the money's gone, it's time to go on.' I've listened to him so far, and I won't stop now."

This question is asking whether or not a phrase was said, and that phrase itself is not a question. If a question ends with a quoted statement that is not a question, the question mark will go outside the closing quotation mark.

The error in this sentence comes from the fact that the underlined phrase is a question and therefore should end with a question mark, even when it is inside double quotation marks; therefore, the correct answer is "What if the lost puppy really does below to Jane?"

The error in the above sentence is in the placement of the question mark. Larry's statement is not the question—the question is if Larry said the statement. Therefore, we need to remove the question mark from "I'm going to see the Queen?" and place it outside the second quotation mark to properly denote the correct question (Did Larry just say, "I'm going to go see the Queen"?)

The error in this sentence is the incorrect punctuation used to separate Elena's first sentence from her second sentence. Since both sentences are complete thoughts, we should change the comma after "said" to a period ("said. 'In fact, I think it was totally an accident.'")

This sentence contains a misuse of quotation marks. The words "Brave New World" is an example of the title of a book (written by Aldous Huxley in 1932), which should either be italicized or underlined. The correct answer is, "He bought a new book, Brave New World, to read in his free time."

This sentence contains a misuse of quotation marks. When a quote is inside of another quotation, single quotation marks must be used for the inner quotation. All other rules for capitalization and punctuation are also followed for quotes within quotes. The correct answer is: ""She said, 'We will make the decision by Monday.'"

This sentence contains a quotation error. Stories, poems, and excerpts (along with other forms of media) should have quotes around them. Unlike books, they are not underlined/italicized. The correct answer is, "The poem "The Road Not Taken" is one of Robert Frost's most famous poems."

The "Road Not Taken" was first published in 1916.

This sentence misuses single quotation marks. Single quotation marks can only be used within an existing quotation. Double quotes should be used instead, since it is indicating here that the word "friend" is being used in some special or ironic way. The best choice is, " "friend" gave."

This sentence misuses commas. It is clear that the words "Nunn Bush" is supposed to be the brand name of the shoes. Brand names are never put in quotations and no additional punctuation is necessary. The correct choice is, "Nunn Bush shoes arrived in the mail today."