Using quotation marks in titles | Punctuation | Khan Academy

- [David] Hello, grammarians.

Hello, Paige.

- [Paige] Hi, David.

- [David] So, today we're gonna be

talking about quotation marks.

What are they and what do they do?

Paige Finch.

- [Paige] We use quotation
marks to indicate

when someone is speaking, right?

So, if we're writing dialogue, we can say,

"I like strawberry jam,"
said Lady Boffington.

- [David] So, that's one
use of quotation marks,

which is to quote direct dialogue

or to quote from a broader work.

We can also use quotation
marks for the titles of things.

So, Paige, if you remember,
you can use underlines

or italics to indicate
the title of something big

like a book of poetry or an album of songs

or a movie or a television show.

- [Paige] Yep.

- [David] So, Paige, for instance,
one of my favorite albums

is Gentle Giant's 1975 album Free Hand.

- [Paige] Okay, but that's
with italics or an underline.

- [David] It's with italics,
or an underline in this case

since I'm writing it by hand.

But track two on that record
is called "On Reflection."

- [Paige] Okay, so we put quotes

around each individual song on the album.

- [David] Right.

So, this is the album,

and this is a single song on it.

Paige, let's say you and Jake
wrote a book of bread poetry.

- [Paige] Okay, yes.
- [David] Right?

- [Paige] That is something I would do.

- [David] And you called
it The Yeast I Can Do.

- [Paige] That is a great title. (laughs)

- [David] Thank you.

- Right, so underline it

to indicate that that's the full title.

So, this is the book.

And then, this book is made
up of individual poems,

so let's say you wrote a poem in the book

called "Rye Do You Love Me?"

Sure, why not?

So that's in quotes and that indicates

that this is a single
work or a single poem.

- [Paige] Okay.

- [David] Also, let me know
when that book is coming out

'cause I'll buy your book of poetry.

(Paige laughs)

So, it's not just songs and poems, right?

But it's also magazine
and newspaper articles,

TV episodes.

Really, it's anything that is
smaller than a larger work.

- [Paige] Right, it's something
inside of a larger thing

like a collection or--

- [David] Right.

- [Paige] Yeah, an album.

- [David] So, if you were
writing for a magazine

or a newspaper, that newspaper's title,

the Khan Academy Times,

would be either italicized or underlined.

But an article that you wrote
for it would be in quotes.

I think that about does it
for quotation marks, Paige.

- [Paige] Yeah, David?

- [David] Yeah.

- [Paige] I think I thought
of a bread poetry book name.

- [David] Okay, what is it?

- [Paige] Loaves of Grass?

- [David] Yep.
- [Paige] Yep.

- [David] Yep, that's pretty good!

- [Paige] Okay.
- [David] All right.

Putting it in there.
(Paige laughs)

That's quotation marks.

You can learn anything.

David out.

- [Paige] Paige out.

- [David] Loaves of Grass.
(Paige laughs)