inverted commas
British quotation marks
Inverted commas is the British term for quotation marks—the punctuation marks that set off direct speech or quoted material.
The name describes their shape: curved marks that look like raised commas, one pair opening and one closing.
American English prefers quotation marks; British English uses both terms, with inverted commas more common in educational contexts.
Punctuation implying doubt
- air quotesGestured skeptical punctuation
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
- sarcasmIrony used to mock
- so-calledLabeled with skepticism
skepticism · distancing · dubious · alleged · supposed · questioned · contested · highlight
Punctuation around direct quotes
- quotesRepeated words, verbatim
- apostropheMark showing ownership
- scare quotesPunctuation implying doubt
- air quotesGestured skeptical punctuation
single quotes · double quotes · closing quote · chevrons · brackets · punctuation · typographical · curly quotes
Oral communication ability
- direct speechExact quoted utterance
- conversationExchange of spoken ideas
- scriptWritten words for performance
- linesStrokes connecting two points
spoken words · characters · narrator · said · utterance · speaker · interlocutor
Mention of a source
- excerptPortion taken from larger work
- quotationCited passage or price
- direct speechExact quoted utterance
- reported speechParaphrased account of utterances
attribution · verbatim · paraphrase · reference · source · block quote · pull quote · epigraph
- article titleName of written work
- short storyBrief prose fiction
- chapter titleName of book division
- headlineNews article title
scare quotes
Punctuation implying doubt
- air quotesGestured skeptical punctuation
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
- sarcasmIrony used to mock
so-called · skepticism · distancing · dubious · alleged · supposed · questioned · contested · highlight · underscore
speech marks
Punctuation around direct quotes
- quotesRepeated words, verbatim
- apostropheMark showing ownership
- scare quotesPunctuation implying doubt
air quotes · single quotes · double quotes · closing quote · chevrons · brackets · punctuation · typographical · curly quotes · smart quotes
speech
Oral communication ability
- direct speechExact quoted utterance
- conversationExchange of spoken ideas
- scriptWritten words for performance
spoken words · lines · characters · narrator · said · utterance · speaker · interlocutor
citation
Mention of a source
- excerptPortion taken from larger work
- quotationCited passage or price
- direct speechExact quoted utterance
reported speech · attribution · verbatim · paraphrase · reference · source · block quote · pull quote · epigraph · misquote
book title
- article titleName of written work
- short storyBrief prose fiction
- chapter titleName of book division
inverted commasparentheses
Curved enclosing punctuation marks
brackets · round brackets · square brackets · braces · em dashes
invert, comma, inversion, inverted, inverting, invertible, quotation marks