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Home/Common Mistakes/Writing/All Other Punctuation/Should I use single or double quotation marks?

Should I use single or double quotation marks?

The use of single or double quotation marks is a matter of preference – both are correct. I prefer single as I think the text looks cleaner and easier to read.

  • ‘Where is the toilet?’ he asked the waiter.
  • “Where is the toilet?” he asked the waiter.

For quotations within quotations use the opposite to what you generally use.

If you’re using single quotation marks:

  • ‘Did he really say, “I hate you” to his mother?’

If you’re using double quotation marks:

  • “Did he really say, ‘I hate you’ to his mother?”