105. Quotation Marks.—Double inverted commas indicate that the inclosed matter is a quotation. Single inverted commas indicate a quotation within a quotation. Double quotation marks are also sometimes used to indicate the title of a book, magazine, or newspaper, or the name of a ship. See also § 106.
A direct quotation is one in which the exact words of a speaker or writer are repeated. When a direct quotation is broken by words of the author, each part of the quotation should be inclosed in quotation marks.
A short informal quotation, if it constitutes a sentence, is preceded by a comma or a comma and a dash. If a quotation is long, or if it is desired to give it with a little more formality, it may be preceded by a colon. If the quotation begins a paragraph, it is preceded by a colon and a dash. See § 100, 1.
"To be or not to be."
The word "coward" has never been applied to me.
"Sir," said I, "you insult me."
I said to him, "Sir, you insult me."
This was his reply: "I tell you that he said only last night, 'You will never see me again.'"
This "History of English Literature" is worth reading.
The wreck of the "Polar Star."
An indirect quotation repeats the thought of some speaker or writer without giving his exact words. Quotation marks are not used to indicate indirect quotations.
[Direct quotation] "Well, my boys," said Mr. Webster, "I will be the judge."
[Indirect quotation] Mr. Webster told his boys that he would be the judge.
Exercise 149.—Rewrite the following story, Daniel Webster's First Case, changing the direct quotations to indirect and the indirect quotations to direct:—
The father of Daniel Webster was a farmer. His garden had suffered somewhat from the visits of a woodchuck that lived in a hole close by. One day Daniel and his brother Ezekiel set a steel trap for the trespasser, and caught him alive. And now the great question was, "What shall be done with the rogue?"