Punctuation 1: quotations

[Squirrel]

I have trouble deciding when to put a comma before I begin a quotation, whether to use a single or double ' symbol, and also whether or not I should begin the quotation on a new line, or with a capital letter or not. I've started, as I do with many types of confusing punctuation, just to pick a combination at random and hope I got it right. A more logical way would be appreciated.

[Quizmonster]

Some quotations may be introduced directly into the sentence you're writing, as in the following example. Hamlet's most famous speech is certainly his "to be or not to be" one. No comma, no colon and no new line is required, as they would just interrupt the flow of the sentence. If the quotation is a lengthy one, it is best to give it a separate, indented section/paragraph to itself.

If you now wanted to quote what I have just written, you'd need to put my whole sentence into double quotation marks, with the extract from Shakespeare in single quotation marks inside it, as follows. As Quizmonster claimed: "Hamlet's most famous speech is certainly his 'to be or not to be' one." Note that, this time, I have used a colon after 'claimed', though a comma would have had the same effect.

I hope that's of some assistance, Squirrel. If you have further queries on it, just come back with them here. Cheers

[Squirrel]

Thank you, Quizmonster, you've been extremely helpful. Two more questions: under what circumstances do I begin a quotation with a capital letter; and as I think of more related questions about writing, should I just stick them here in this topic?

[gazzawazza]

I can remember my teacher in second year junior school teaching us this. The way he did it was to have a kid say, "Mr Barnes said," and then Mr Barnes would speak his part. The point he hammered home time after time after time was that the classmate's part ended with a comma, and anything he himself said started with a capital letter, ended with a full stop and was to be inside the 66 and 99s.

I'm not for one second suggesting that Lord Quiz of Monster hadn't made it clear enough, we all know and accept his answers are 100% correct all of the time! (Thanks Quizzy). I'm just reminiscing on the way a much loved teacher got this point across to us and thought it might add to the answer. At least it worked for me, 33 years on it's still inside my head and every time I use speech marks I remember Mr Barnes!

[Quizmonster]

I agree very largely with Gazza - and his ex-teacher! - that a quote is generally introduced by a comma (or colon). If a whole/substantial quote - from the beginning of a sentence to its end, say - is being offered, I would also start it with a capital letter and enclose it in "..." or '...', as appropriate. However, I feel that - if you want to meld the quote into your own thought-flow - the capital-letter introduction is not essential...indeed, it seems counter-productive.

Referring to things not always being what they seem, for example, I might use another Shakespeare quote and write the following: We must remember that "all that glisters is not gold". There, I would certainly not use comma, colon or capital letter, since I want the quote to flow uninterruptedly on from my word 'that'.

Re your point about further questions, Squirrel, I'd place them individually as new questions in this category. I suggest that, firstly, because this particular thread will soon disappear off the bottom of the page and, secondly, because that'll give you access to the worthwhile ideas of others such as Gazza. Cheers to both of you.

[Squirrel]

Thanks very much both of you.

[Squirrel]

P.S. There are a lot of word-related things I don't have a clue about, so I might ask many questions on the topic in the future (I hope this is OK).