Punctuating Quotations

Use quotation marks around the exact words of a speaker.

The three Billy Goats Gruff had eaten all of the grass on their side of the river. The littlest goat cried, "I am hungry!"

Introduce a quotation with a word like "said" or "asked" followed by a comma.

The medium-sized goat replied, "We're all hungry."

After the words of the speaker, place end punctuation (or a comma) inside the closing quotation mark.

The littlest goat declared, "There's lots of grass on the other side of the river."

"Ah, but a terrible troll lives under the bridge," the biggest goat pointed out.

"I'm not afraid of him," snorted the little goat, and off he went.