Writing a Quote: How to Quote Someone Correctly

Writing a quote means reproducing someone’s exact words and marking them as theirs. In writing, a quotation has three parts: the speaker’s words inside quotation marks, a signal that says who is speaking, and correct punctuation joining the two. “As Lincoln put it, ‘Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.'” Below is how to punctuate a quote, where the commas and periods go, and how to handle a quote inside a quote.

What counts as a quote

A quote (quotation) is a person’s exact words, copied word for word and enclosed in quotation marks. If you change any of the words, it is no longer a direct quote; it becomes a paraphrase, which does not take quotation marks. The whole point of quotation marks is to promise the reader that everything inside them is verbatim. This is different from a “quote” meaning an inspirational saying, though the punctuation rules are the same in both cases.

How to punctuate a quote

Three rules cover most cases.

First, put a comma between the signal phrase and the quote: She said, “I’ll be there.” The comma goes before the opening quotation mark. Second, in American English, periods and commas go inside the closing quotation mark: “I’ll be there,” she said. and She said, “I’ll be there.” Third, capitalize the first word of a full-sentence quote, even in the middle of your sentence: He replied, “That is the point.”

Question marks and exclamation points are the exception to the “inside” rule: they go inside the marks if they belong to the quote (She asked, “Are you coming?”) and outside if they belong to your sentence (Did she really say “no”?).

Quoting inside a sentence

When a quote is woven into your own sentence rather than announced, you often need no comma at all: He called it “the best year of his life.” Here the quoted phrase is part of the grammar of your sentence, so it flows without a break. Use a comma when you introduce the quote with a signal phrase like she said or he wrote; drop it when the quote slots directly into your sentence.

A quote inside a quote

When you quote someone who is themselves quoting another person, use single quotation marks for the inner quote and double for the outer: She told me, “My grandmother always said, ‘Waste not, want not.'” American style uses double marks on the outside and single on the inside; British style often reverses this. Keep it consistent within a document.

Citing where a quote came from

In academic writing, a direct quote needs a citation showing where it came from, and the format depends on the style guide. MLA and APA both require the author and a page or year, placed in parentheses after the quote. Quoting a spoken source, like a speech or interview, follows its own conventions. For the specifics of citing spoken words, see how to quote a speech. The general rule holds across styles: name the source, so the reader can find and trust it.

Common mistakes

The frequent errors are putting the period outside the quotation marks in American writing, changing the speaker’s words while keeping the quotation marks, and forgetting the comma before a quote introduced by a signal phrase. A subtler one is quoting a paraphrase: if you did not copy the exact words, do not use quotation marks, because they claim a precision you are not delivering. When in doubt, either quote exactly with marks or paraphrase cleanly without them. For sourced examples to practice on, see education quotes.

FAQ

How do you punctuate a quote?

Put a comma between the signal phrase and the quote, capitalize the first word of a full-sentence quote, and in American English keep periods and commas inside the closing quotation mark.

Do periods go inside or outside quotation marks?

In American English, inside. Periods and commas always sit inside the closing quotation mark. Question marks go inside only if they belong to the quote.

How do you write a quote within a quote?

Use single quotation marks for the inner quote and double for the outer one, in American style: “My grandmother said, ‘Waste not, want not.'”

What is the difference between a quote and a paraphrase?

A quote reproduces the exact words and takes quotation marks. A paraphrase restates the idea in your own words and takes no quotation marks.