Double Quotes

[raylearnenglish]

When I should use Double Quotes And Can I use for persons Name?

Like :

"We are doing this"

As per "Ray's Comments"

What does double quotes indicates in emails?

 

[emsr2d2]

When I should use Double Quotes And Can I use for persons Name?

Like :

"We are doing this"

As per "Ray's Comments"

What does double quotes indicates in emails?

It depends on context. They're used when quoting direct speech. They're sometimes used to emphasise a word or a phrase within a body of text. You will see on this website that individual words are frequently enclosed in quotation marks so that they can be easily seen within the sentence. For example, the following sentence is rather hard to read:

When should I use or and when should I use and and can you give examples?

However, it's much easier to read as:

When should I use "or" and when should I use "and", and can you give examples?

 

[Rover_KE]

In books and other printed matter, publishers in the US prefer to use double quotation marks, whilst those in the UK favour single ones.

In both cases a quotation within a quotation is enclosed by the alternative form.

Like this:

John said 'I can't stand it when Jane says "Go away, John"'. (That's the BE version.)

Rover

 

[emsr2d2]

That's an interesting point. Maybe part of me is American - I pretty much never use single quotation marks!

Out of curiosity, was that quote meant to say that John said "I can't stand it...", as opposed to "I can stand it..."?

 

[raylearnenglish]

I am still not clear on this...if I use double quotes in email that means I am trying to stress that point Or I am trying to make it more readable.

 

[Rover_KE]

Out of curiosity, was that quote meant to say that John said "I can't stand it...", as opposed to "I can stand it..."?

Oops! You're right, of course. I've changed it.

Rover

 

[Rover_KE]

I am still not clear on this...if I use double quotes in email that means I am trying to stress that point Or I am trying to make it more readable.

No. You don't use quotes for emphasis - just for speech or titles of books, plays etc.

Rover

 

[Barb_D]

You can also use quotes if you're introducing a new word of phrase or using it in a way that reader might not be familiar with. For example, my company has a program known as "Making a Difference," which provides a framework for employees to organize volunteer events in their communities.

In this case, you surely know the words "Making" and "Difference" but the joining of those words as a phrase "Making a Difference" in this context needs some definition.


In an e-mail if I wanted to add emphasis but the text processor did not allow bold, I would not say: You will "never" guess what he said.
I might say: You will NEVER guess what he said or You will *never* guess what he said.

 

[emsr2d2]

I may have muddied the waters a little as I think I was the one who used the word emphasis.

Apologies - what I meant was that I would enclose a word in quotation marks simply to make it stand out in the sentence.

For example: There are a lot of threads on here regarding "their" and "there", and "must" and "have to".