Quotes within Quotes
The general rule to show quotes within quotes (quotation marks around text already inside quotes) is to use a different quotation mark from your primary one. Thus, if you generally enclose text in double quotes (as in US style), use single quotes for quotes within quotes. However, if you generally enclose text in single quotes (as in British style), use double quotes instead for quotes within quotes.
- “What does ‘nonplussed’ mean?” asked Farley. (Single inside double quotes)
- ‘What does “nonplussed” mean?’ asked Farley. (Double inside single quotes)
Quotation marks, whether they stand by themselves or are quotes within quotes, enclose direct speech, indicate irony, set off the title of a poem or other work, or show that a word is being used as itself in a sentence. The use of single and double quotation marks depends on whether you follow US or UK style. Differences also exist in how commas and periods are used with quotes within quotes, discussed below.
American vs. British style
If you follow US style, use single inside double quotation marks to show a quote within a quote. In British style, use double inside single quotes.
- American: Poco asked, “What is ‘noumenon’?”
British: Poco asked, ‘What is “noumenon”?’ - American: Maya said, “She wrote ‘Ariel’ on her thirtieth birthday.”
British: Maya said, ‘She wrote “Ariel” on her thirtieth birthday.’ - American: “The password is ‘dragon.’”
British: ‘The password is “dragon”.’ - American: “Whenever I ask he says, ‘I’m busy.’ I’ve just stopped asking.”
British: ‘Whenever I ask he says, “I’m busy.” I’ve just stopped asking.’
US style manuals, including the Chicago Manual of Style, AP Stylebook, APA Publication Manual, and MLA Handbook, all recommend using double quotes first, with single quotes reserved for quotes within quotes. In contrast, single quotation marks are the first choice in British formal writing and book publishing, with double quotes brought out only when needed to show quoted text inside a quotation. This is the style recommended by the New Oxford Style Manual.
Note that British news publications, such as the BBC and Guardian, use single inside double quotes, which is the same as US style.
- “Now, many people I talk to they say, ‘Oh, if I didn’t have the flexibility, or the benefits, I’d just leave’,” says Lupu.
— “What does work-life balance mean in a changed work world?” BBC Worklife (Feb. 28, 2023)
Placement of commas and periods
In US style, always place a period or a comma inside quotation marks, even a quote within a quote. This means that a comma goes inside single quotes that appear in text enclosed in double quotes.
- “Their ‘dragon,’” she said, “turned out to be a balloon.” During the briefing she said, “The ‘dragon,’ sighted earlier this week, turned out to be a balloon.”
- She said, “That wasn’t a ‘dragon.’”
- “My grandmother would say this is ‘all fated.’”
In British style, commas and periods (or full stops) are treated like any other punctuation. They appear inside quotation marks only if they are meant to punctuate the text inside quotes, but outside if they belong to the larger sentence.
- ‘Their “dragon”,’ she said, ‘turned out to be a balloon.’ During the briefing she said, ‘The “dragon”, which was sighted earlier this week, turned out to be a balloon.’
- She said, ‘That wasn’t a “dragon”.’
- ‘My grandmother would say this is “all fated”.’
Placement of other punctuation
Other punctuation marks, like question marks and exclamation points, appear inside quotation marks if they belong to the quoted text (both in US and UK style). This can get tricky with quotes within quotes: check whether the punctuation belongs to the embedded quote, the quotation around it, or to the surrounding sentence.
- A witness said, “We were in the park when we heard someone cry, ‘It’s a dragon!’”
- He laughed and said, “They thought the balloon was a ‘dragon’!”
- “Did someone just say ‘dragon’?” she asked.
- “The mayor asked, ‘Was it a balloon or a dragon?’” reports the Times.
In British formal or creative writing, you would use double inside single quotation marks.
- British: ‘Did someone just say “dragon”?’ she asked.
Space between adjacent quotation marks
When quoted text appears within a quotation, single and double quotation marks may appear next to each other. If this affects legibility, insert a space between the two. In online media, this is optional, but recommended in fonts where it would improve readability. In print, typesetters generally place a thin space (or hair space) between adjacent quotation marks.
- “Until then,” said Maya, “I hadn’t read ‘Ariel.’ ”
- “ ‘Apologies’ such as this one are useless,” she replied.
Make sure to use a non-breaking space so that a quotation mark doesn’t get stranded by itself at line break. To insert a non-breaking space in Microsoft Word, press Ctrl + Shift + Space (on Windows) or Option + Space (on Mac OS). The HTML character code is .