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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
"Help me lift this", she whispered, knowing the request would be her last if she were overheard. No error
Punctuation always goes inside the quotation marks in American English.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Liam told his study group that "he needed to take a break from studying," so the group's members all decided to get sandwiches before beginning to take notes on the textbook's next chapter. No error
This sentence incorrectly uses quotation marks to set off an indirect quotation from the sentence when no quotation marks are needed. If the sentence said "Liam told his study group, 'I need to take a break from studying,'" then quotation marks would be necessary. However, because the sentence is indirectly telling us what Liam said, and not giving us his exact words, no quotation marks are needed. Removing the quotation marks around "he needed to take a break from studying" would correct the sentence's error.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Once Daniel told us that "he was going into the cabin to pick up his guitar," we knew we were about to have a great night around the campfire. No error.
The sentences uses quotation marks for an indirect quotation from Daniel when no quotation marks are needed. Only direct quotations require quotation marks in sentences like these.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
"I don't understand this at all!", Jose yelled in frustration as he crumbled up his Chemistry homework. No error.
Jose's direct quote ends with an exclamation point, so the quote does not require a comma to separate it from the rest of the sentence.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
"The Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria were the three ships Columbus used on his voyage to America", Sarah proclaimed confidently. No error.
Placing the comma outside of the end quotation marks in a direct quote is incorrect in American English. The comma should immediately follow "America" in the above sentence.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
“Did you see where that dog went, and can you help me follow it,” she cried. No error
Because the sentence inside the quotation marks is a question, it must be punctuated with a question mark. This question mark should appear inside the quotation marks, as follows: “Did you see where that dog went, and can you help me follow it?”
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
“I’d love to go to the game with you,” his girlfriend said, “but first you’ll have to lend me money for the tickets.” No error
This sentence is perfectly punctuated. Because the sentence of speech is broken up in the middle with a dialogue tag, commas are used after “you” and after “said” to set off that dialogue tag. (If the spoken part was two sentences long, however, you would have to use a period after “said” and a capital B for “but,” since you would be starting a new sentence after the dialogue tag.)
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
I’ve told my coworkers over and over that they must “remember to wash their hands” after handling money, but they always seem to forget. No error
Quotation marks should only be used to set off direct speech from the rest of a sentence. In this case, the speaker is recalling what he or she usually tells his or her coworkers, and he or she is doing so using indirect speech. Indirect speech never requires quotation marks, so there should be no quotation marks in this sentence.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Anna said to her mother, “I wish you’d saved your old wedding dress so I could wear it during my own ceremony.” No error
This sentence is properly punctuated and contains no errors. Because the sentence is using direct speech—in other words, it’s recounting exactly what Anna said to her mother—quotation marks and a comma are necessary to offset the direct speech from the rest of the sentence.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
“Can you tell me where the cupcake shop is?”, she asked the kindly old man, her stomach rumbling with hunger. No error
Because the sentence inside the quotation marks is a question and already contains a punctuation mark, the comma that appears immediately after the quotation marks is redundant. Only the question mark (properly placed inside the quotation marks) is necessary.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
After I heard the police say “they were looking for a man with a rose tattoo and a scar across his face,” I realized I had seen the suspect getting into a red car earlier today. No error
Here, the quotation marks are unnecessary. The text inside the quotation marks is indirect speech—that is, it isn’t a direct quote from the police, but rather a paraphrase. Quotation marks are never used for indirect speech, only direct speech.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
“In order to make a perfect pie crust, you need to use plenty of shortening”, the baker told his family. No error
The convention in written English is to put the comma inside the quotation marks when separating a line of direct speech from its dialogue tag. In this sentence, the second comma should come between the word “shortening” and the quotation mark.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
“The mating ritual of the Andean flamingo is elaborate, intricate, and a little bit funny”, the biologist told his students. No error
The convention in written English is to put the comma inside the quotation marks when separating a line of direct speech from its dialogue tag. In this sentence, the second comma should come between the word “funny” and the quotation mark.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Larry told his brother that “he’d never been so impressed with a company, not in all his years in the industry. No error
In this sentence, the quotation mark before “he’d” is unnecessary. The entire sentence is indirect speech; that is, it isn’t a direct quote from Larry, but rather an approximation of what he said. Quotation marks are never used for indirect speech, only direct speech.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
“I hate Tyrannosaurus rex!”, the toddler shrieked, beginning the day’s first of many tantrums at the Natural History Museum. No error
Because the sentence inside the quotation already contains an exclamation mark, the comma immediately after the quotation marks is redundant. Only the exclamation mark (properly placed inside the quotation marks) is necessary.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
"Wow", exclaimed Annie, "I am having the time of my life!" No error
Quotation marks, used to indicate the reproduction of direct speech, should always precede the first letter of the quotation, and follow the final punctuation mark of the quotation. If there is an intervening part of the sentence in the middle of a quotation, then it should be separated from the quotation marks by punctuation. The sentence above places the comma outside of the quotation marks after "wow," and thus commits a quotation mark error. Note that the comma after Annie is correctly placed outside of the second set of quotation marks, and the exclamation mark at the end of the sentence is correctly placed within quotation marks.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
"I hate playing this game with you, said Donna. No error
Quotation marks, used to indicate direct quotation, should always precede the first letter of the quotation and follow the final punctuation mark of the quotation. If there is an intervening part of the sentence in the middle of a quotation, then it should be separated from the quotation marks by punctuation. The sentence above is missing quotation marks after the comma after the word "you." "Said" or the name of the person who is speaking is a good indicator that the clause prior should be closed off with a quotation mark.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Paul cried out, This is a really bad time for me, please have some pity!" No error
When directly reproducing speech or writing verbatim, one must use quotation marks. If there is an intervening part of the sentence in the middle of a quotation, then it should be separated from the quotation marks by punctuation. The sentence above is missing quotation marks between the comma and the "This." When a sentence has a quotation mark at the end, there will always be a quotation mark at the beginning of the quotation.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
"I cannot tolerate any further failure on your part," said the Senator. "You must succeed going forward." No error
Quotation marks, used to convey that someone is speaking, should always precede the first letter of the quotation, and follow the final punctuation mark of the quotation. If there is an intervening part of the sentence in the middle of a quotation, then it should be separated from the quotation marks by punctuation. The example sentence correctly uses quotation marks, and uses the correct punctuation both inside and outside the quotation marks; thus the sentence is correct as written.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
This may be the most important day of your lives," the King said to his men. No error
The example sentence fails to correctly place a quotation mark before the first letter of the quoted material. The rest of the sentence is correctly punctuated and capitalized.
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