What’s the Difference?

Single quotation marks should not be used: • to quote, • add emphasis, • indicate sarcasm, • denote specialized terms, or indicate a title. It can only be used when quoting within another quote, or for a quote within a news headline.

On the other hand, favors the use of single quotes and traditionally only uses double quotation marks to indicate a quote within a quote. ‘Bob said to me, “I won’t go to your family reunion!”’

Quotation Marks in the UK vs. the US

American English: “All of the containers in the port exploded.” British English: ‘All of the containers in the port exploded’.

• Period

• Comma

American English: “I just don’t think we can afford it this year,” sighed the president. British English: ‘I just don’t think we can afford it this year’, sighed the president.

• Exclamation Point

American English: I can’t believe you’ve never heard “practice makes perfect”! British English: I can’t believe you’ve never heard ‘practice makes perfect’!

• Question mark (part of the quote)

American English: “Where are you going?” she asked. British English: ‘Where are you going?’ she asked.

• Semicolon/Colon

American English: It is true that my boss said “buy whatever you want”; however, I don’t think she meant a Ferrari. British English: It is true that my boss said ‘buy whatever you want’; however, I don’t think she meant a Ferrari.

How to Make Sure You Use Quotation Marks Correctly?

Know what you are writing. Identify are you writing in: American English or British English? Note is there a specific citation style you should follow for your assignment?

If you’re an academic or a student, try an online AI grammar checker like Trinka, which is specifically designed to check papers with specialized terminology, grammar, and punctuation. As long as you stick to the rules above, you’ll never mix up single and double quotation marks again!

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