IXL | Formatting quotations and dialogue

Correct any errors in capitalization or punctuation. Your answer should be a single sentence.

"The best way to have a good idea." advised scientist and activist Linus Pauling, "is to have lots of ideas".

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question

Correct any errors in capitalization or punctuation. Your answer should be a single sentence.

"Plan for the future," Mark Twain advised, "because that is where you are going to spend the rest of your life".

key idea

Use quotation marks around a direct quotation from a speaker or a written source. A direct quotation can be written in several ways.

The quotation can come after the speaker tag.

The speaker declared, "We can succeed by working together."

He demanded, "Who's there?"

Use a comma to separate the speaker tag from the quotation, and capitalize the first word of the quotation.

The quotation can come before the speaker tag.

"We can succeed by working together," the speaker declared.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

Unless the quotation ends with a question mark or exclamation point, separate it from the speaker tag with a comma. Do not capitalize the speaker tag unless it begins with a proper noun or the pronoun I.

The quotation can be interrupted by the speaker tag.

"We can succeed," the speaker declared, "by working together."

Use commas to separate the speaker tag from the quotation. Do not capitalize the second part of the quotation.

Commas and periods always go inside closing quotation marks. Question marks and exclamation points should go inside only when they are part of the quotation.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

He demanded, "Who's there?"

Here the question mark is part of the quotation, so place it inside the closing quotation mark. No additional comma or period is needed.

He paused and listened; had he really heard someone reply, "There's no one here"?

Here the question mark is not part of the quotation, so place it outside the closing quotation mark. No additional period is needed.

solution

Correct the sentence.

"Plan for the future," Mark Twain advised, "because that is where you are going to spend the rest of your life."

Periods should always go inside closing quotation marks.

$Confetti$

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Time
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VV.4Punctuating dialogue

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