# Use of quotation marks **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 13, 2024, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-quotation-marks/1004129 "2024-07-13T02:53:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-quotation-marks/1004129/1 "2024-07-13T02:53:29Z")
I got into a kerfuffle with another poster, @colinfred. Theyposted a comment puporting to quote me. They used my screen name, and put quotation marks around what I had supposedly said. We got modded which was fair. It wasn’t the pit and it got a bit heated. Sorry about that. I can’t seem to link. It was The New York Times is pro trump. My question: this person put quotes around something I did not say. What they “quoted” was opposite of my opinion. Is this OK? Usually it isn’t allowed to put words in someone else’s mouth, but they seemed to think it was alright since they didn’t use the quote functon. So how say you? ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-quotation-marks/1004129/2 "2024-07-13T08:51:30Z")
You are deliberately misrepresenting the situation here. I said you were talking _about_ X not that you actually _said_ X. The fact you are talking _about_ X indicates what is coming is my paraphrase of what X is. In this case I was paraphrasing the opinion of a “you” that you were talking to. You were effectively the middleman, the quotation marks signalling the opening and closing of the paraphrase, I did not imply in any way you actually said what I was paraphrasing. Please don’t “they” me. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-quotation-marks/1004129/3 "2024-07-13T08:52:55Z")
> [@Is the New York Times Pro-Trump?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-new-york-times-pro-trump/1003509/160): > > So you get your wish, some mystery Dem takes Biden’s place, and trump wins. What then? Starts here. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-quotation-marks/1004129/4 "2024-07-13T14:22:54Z")
> [@Sylvanz](#): > > Theyposted a comment puporting to quote me. I, at least, would _not_ interpret @colinfred’s post to mean “This is a direct quote of @Sylvanz.” ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-quotation-marks/1004129/5 "2024-07-13T14:41:07Z")
Relevant rules in **TOS** [Terms of Service](https://boards.straightdope.com/tos) **Quotes must be accurate, whether displayed using the message board’s quote function or ordinary quotation marks.** > **Quoting.** Falsely attributing a quote to another SDMB user, or modifying another’s post in order to cast him/her in a bad light, is grounds for revocation of your posting privileges. We allow parody quotes under certain conditions. Here are the permissible options: > - _Quote attributed to real SDMB user_ . Quotes must be accurate, whether displayed using the message board’s quote function or ordinary quotation marks. Normal editorial rules apply. You may indicate omitted portions of a quote by the use of ellipses “…” or devices such as [snip]. You may add text to clarify a word using square brackets (e.g., “her [the sister’s] friend”), but you may not add editorial comments or edit a quote to change the substantive meaning, nor may you substitute text such as “some blather” or “more nonsense” inside the [QUOTE] tags or quotation marks. This applies to all forums including the Pit. > - _Unattributed quote (no name)._ Unattributed parody quotes are permitted in all forums provided they don’t violate other SDMB rules. > Note: > > - SDMB moderators do not routinely check quotes for accuracy. If you see a violation of the above rules, please report it. > - The above rules apply to quotes of SDMB users only. We encourage accurate quoting of off-board individuals in a serious discussion; links are recommended. If you derail a discussion with fake or misleading quotes of off-board individuals, we reserve the right to take action. * * * * * * This post: > [@Is the New York Times Pro-Trump?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-new-york-times-pro-trump/1003509/178): > > “Some mystery dem” would have to be better than Biden at this point, (couldn’t be much worse!). Again, the about indicates it was a paraphrase of what s/he said. Appears to just quote and not change anything. > [@Is the New York Times Pro-Trump?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-new-york-times-pro-trump/1003509/160): > > So you get your wish, some mystery Dem takes Biden’s place, and trump wins. What then? Earlier we do have this paraphrase though: > [@Is the New York Times Pro-Trump?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-new-york-times-pro-trump/1003509/169): > > The actual numbers are obviously vague, and I wasn’t saying that they fit the probabilities exactly. I was just replying to Sylvanz’s query about “What if you replace a poor candidate with a better one and s/he still loses?” It appears that shouldn’t done without a clear clarification that it is a paraphrase and/or better yet, no quote marks. * * * * * * The argument in thread was a heated hijack and post 169 probably should have been flagged instead. I’ll be honest, we enforced the Quote Tags far more rigidly and more often than quote marks. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-quotation-marks/1004129/6 "2024-07-13T14:57:58Z")
Double quotation marks around a whole sentence are generally supposed to indicate a verbatim quotation. Around a single word or very short phrase they have other uses such as scare quotes or indication of the title of an artistic work, etc, but IMO, the thing being discussed here is presented as a misquotation, even though that might not have been the intent. I think this would have been better presented simply omitting the double quotes, like: Sylvanz’s query about what if you replace a poor candidate with a better one and s/he still loses? or maybe italicised to differentiate the paraphrased part, like: Sylvanz’s query to the effect: _What if you replace a poor candidate with a better one and s/he still loses?_ ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-quotation-marks/1004129/7 "2024-07-13T15:59:28Z")
Thank you for your attention. I know this is not academia, but the way I was instructed was if you are not directly quoting don’t use quotation marks. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-quotation-marks/1004129/8 "2024-07-13T16:02:11Z")
Sorry. I don’t know your preferred pronouns and this board leans towards they/them. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-quotation-marks/1004129/9 "2024-07-13T16:05:46Z")
Click his name and you’ll see his preference. But as most posters don’t have that loaded, understood why not checked. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-quotation-marks/1004129/10 "2024-07-13T16:30:45Z")
Understood. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-quotation-marks/1004129/11 "2024-07-13T21:40:13Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Sylvanz’s query about what if you replace a poor candidate with a better one and s/he still loses? > > or maybe italicised to differentiate the paraphrased part, like: > > Sylvanz’s query to the effect: _What if you replace a poor candidate with a better one and s/he still loses?_ That’s a decent technique. When I need to set up a hypothetical or paraphrase, my technique is wrap the hunk in square brackets [\_\_]. And I usually end the intro w a colon. So like this: > We’re considering the case of: [What if you replace a poor candidate with a better one and s/he still loses?] That’s certainly non-standard but it’s real far from quoute marks and IMO safer if somehow you’re (I’m really) attributing the bracketed _idea_ to some specific poster. It also makes it easier if the hypothetical runs to multiple sentences or even another paragraph. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-quotation-marks/1004129/12 "2024-07-13T21:44:39Z")
Yup, didn’t want to be associated with that idea. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2024, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-quotation-marks/1004129/13 "2024-07-14T14:45:58Z")
This is an easy thing to fall into though - I just had to catch myself in another thread - I wanted to write a hypothetical but plausible thing that a specific politician might say next and it seemed the most natural thing to put it in quotes, even though it’s not an actual quote. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-quotation-marks/1004129/14 "2024-07-24T12:27:03Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Click his name and you’ll see his preference. > > But as most posters don’t have that loaded, understood why not checked. ⁢ @colinfred You may wish to do what WE did put your pronouns in your title, as it is a bit unusual. There’s a thread where you can ask for title changes in this very forum. I do remember your pronouns are he/it, (which means he prefers “he” but will accept “it.”) I would say it is implicit then that you don’t like “they.” I know a few people who prefer “it” all the time. Now that is hard for me!