Do you know what quotations are? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on quotations, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!
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Kevin
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December 1, 2021
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Common Questions
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What are quotations?
According to Really Learn English, quotations are punctuation marks with many different uses, like a comma, parentheses, colons, question mark, exclamation point, or semicolon. You can use quotation marks (single quotation marks or double quotation marks) for many different things, such as a quote, citation, block quotations, parenthetical citations, and more. Like the placement of question marks, the ability to use commas or an exclamation mark, quotation marks require logic. These are often used for dialogue in short stories and novels. These are sometimes used differently in British English versus American English. Consult a citation style handbook like the MLA Handbook, University of Chicago Press and more for guidelines on how to use quotations in footnotes, chapter titles, an indent, block quotes and more.
Many different languages also contain words that mean quotations. You may notice that some of these translations of quotations look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases in different languages that likely have the same root or language of origin, causing them to sound the same. The below list of translations of quotations is provided by Word Sense.
- Hungarian: idézet
- Polish: cytat (m-in)
- Arabic: اِقْتِبَاس (masc.)
- Nynorsk: sitat (neut.)
- Turkish: alıntı
- Danish: citat (neut.)
- German: Zitat (neut.)
- Roman: citat (masc.)
- Cyrillic: цитат (masc.)
- Italian: citazione (fem.)
- Icelandic: tilvitnun (fem.)
- French: citation (fem.)
- Romanian: citat (neut.)
- Swedish: citat (neut.)
- Portuguese: citação (fem.)
- Spanish: cita (fem.), citación (fem.)
- Mandarin: 引用 (yǐnyòng), 引語, 引语 (yǐnyǔ)
- Scottish Gaelic: às-aithris (fem.)
- Japanese: 引用 (いんよう, in’yō)
- Finnish: sitaatti (neut.), lainaus
- Dutch: citaat (neut.)
- Hebrew: צִטּוּט, מוּבָאָה, צִיטָטָה
- Korean: 인용 (in-yong) (引用)
- Bokmål: sitat (neut.)
- Bulgarian: цитат
- Czech: citát (masc.)
- Russian: цита́та (fem.)
What are examples of quotations?
Quotations can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of quotations that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use. Take a look at these and quotations examples from Grammarly, Grammar Monster and Really Learn English and see how many you can identify!
- He replied, “I left the keys in the car.”
- “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” (Statesman Napoleon Bonaparte)
- She offered the following advice: “Don’t drink the water.”
- “Your brother,” my mom said, “wants you to be at his party.”
- She said, “I read the chapter ‘The Tall Tree’ yesterday.”
- You should “pay” her with your love.
- My favorite poem by Emily Dickinson is “There Is Another Sky.”
- He was “delighted” to read the news.
- He called them “loud, smelly, and utterly annoying,” and he closed the door.
- Did you watch “Spider-Man”?
- I read “The Lost Keys” any time I need a laugh!
- Joan yelled, “Stop talking!” She was pretty upset.
- She did not understand the word “overweight.”
- He looked up and said “D’oh!”
- She shared her “wisdom” with me.
- Melissa told me, “You are the best”! I was so happy to hear that!
- I love “Where the Sidewalk Ends”; however, my favorite poem is by Robert Frost.
- He could “see” my thoughts.
- Did you read the article “Building Vocabulary”?
- The following fruit are called “tropical”: bananas, coconuts and pineapples.\
- Tillman claimed, “The world is my lobster.”
- When Bill came home he asked, “Who made this mess?”
- She said: “Don’t drink the water.”
- Sherlock Holmes turned to Watson and said: “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”
- “Face” comes from Latin.
- “I am studying to become a teacher,” she said.
- I replied, “I do not want to clean my room.”
- “We should go home,” said Bob.
- “I guess I will clean my room!” I exclaimed.
- John said, “I really hate when it’s hot outside.”
- The exact phrase she used was “There is no way we will get there in time.”
- Look up the word “calm” in the dictionary.
- “My wedding is in two weeks,” she exclaimed, “and I am so excited!”
- He said, “do you want to stay?”
- The first chapter in the book is “The Tall Tree.”
- To get the past form, add “ed” after “walk.”
- My students enjoyed reading “Oranges.”
- “The problem with opinions,” Paula explained, “is that everyone has one.”
- Pointing at the leaves, she said, “poisonousness.”
- “Please clean your room,” mom said.
- “I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.” (President Thomas Jefferson)
- “Find the page number in the America textbook, then write your own sentence summary,” my history teacher said.
- “Then you will not go to the park today,” she told me.
- Her “farewell present” was a slammed door.
- She performed the poem, “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” by Emily Dickinson.
- She described the leaves as “poisonousness.”
- She said, “Keep your hands to yourself.”
- “We’re going to New York,” grandmother said.
- She asked, “What if your favorite song or works of fiction? I could memorize lines of poetry all day, including a slash, pause or line break.”
Overall, the word quotations refers to punctuation marks that are used in many different ways in the English language in writing. When in doubt, be sure to consult a style handbook to ensure proper usage always.
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