3．The Quotation Marks引号

Quotation marks are used to enclose any direct quotation，whether from a speaker or from written material．A direct quotation must be exactly as it is spoken or written．The explanatory expressions that accompany direct quotations are not placed within the quotation marks but are set off by commas．Explanatory material can be placed at the beginning，within，or at the end of the quotation．

引号主要用于直接引语。说明性的文字一般不放在引号以内而由逗号隔开，其位置也较灵活，可在引语之前，在引语中间，也可在引语之后。

a．Quotation within quotation

When a quotation contains a quotation within the quoted matter，enclose the internal quotation in single quotation marks and the whole quotation in double quotation marks．

引号中若包含其他引语，则须用引号、双引号以示区别。

This statement was in a student's paper:“In a book written by Arthur M．Schlesinger，John Kennedy is quoted as saying，‘Washington is a city of southern efficiency and northern charm．’”

b．With other marks of punctuation

(1)The period and the comma always go inside closing quotation marks．

逗号和句号通常包括在引号之内。

“I paid the bill two months ago，”the customer wrote．

Harvey said，“Mr．Lee took care of the matter immediately．”

(2)The colon and the semicolon always go outside closing quotation marks．

冒号和分号则在引号之外。

Dan calls his Mercedes“set of wheels”;I think this is a slight understatement．

(3)The dash，the question mark，and the exclamation point may be placed either inside or outside closing quotation marks depending upon whether the entire sentence or just the quotation is the question or the exclamation．

破折号、问号和感叹号等如果只和引语有关，则放在引号之内；如果和整个句子有关，则放在引号之外。

Did Sheila ask，“where are the tickets”?

I heard Sheila say，“where are the tickets?”

c．Other uses

Quotation marks are also used to enclose:

(1)Titles of short stories，poems，one-act plays，articles，reports，lectures，catalogs，essays，chapters of books，unpublished works，and other literary works that are less than book length．

(2)Songs and radio and television programs．

(3)Words used as shortened forms，unusual or technical terms，and words accompanied by their definitions．

一些较短篇幅的文学作品如短篇故事、诗歌、独幕剧、文章报道、讲座目录以及广播乐曲、影视作品和少量专业术语等，通常也须用引号标识。