SAT Writing › Identifying Quotation Mark Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no errors at all.
"How much farther do we have to go?", she panted, her breathing coming hard as they began to run up a steep hill. No error
go?",
farther
panted,
have
No error
In standard American English, quotations that end in an exclamation point or question mark require no further punctuation to set them off from the rest of the sentence; the comma following the quotation marks can be eliminated.
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
"I can't stand the old man's behavior in public," cried Angelina. He is so rude." No error
Angelina. He
"I can't stand
No error
man's behavior
rude."
Quotation marks, used to convey that someone is speaking, should always precede the first letter of the quotation, and follow the final punctuation mark of the quotation. If there is an intervening part of the sentence in the middle of a quotation, then it should be separated from the quotation marks by punctuation. The best way to correct the sentence above is: "I can't stand the old man's behavior in public," cried Angelina. "He is so rude."
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
"First, we need to pick up the cake, and then we will go to the party store." said Emily. No error
." said
"First
, and
go
No error
When a quotation is followed by a description of who said it, such as "said Emily," the sentence within the quotation must end with a comma before the final quotation mark.
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the following sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
"Do any of us know where to go," he shrieked, desperate, as the rest of the group caught up with him. No error
go,"
shrieked,
desperate,
with
No error
The speaker in the sentence is asking a question, and questions that are inside quotation marks should always be ended with a question mark. The comma is unnecessary when the quotation is not a statement, so the fixed sentence should read, "'Oh no, do any of us know where to go?' he shrieked..."
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The very old man said "I need a lot of help to get through my day, but that doesn't get me down." No error
said "I
No error
The very old man
my day, but
down."
Quotation marks, used to convey speech or direct quotation of written discourse, should always precede the first letter of the quotation, and follow the final punctuation mark of the quotation. If there is an intervening part of the sentence in the middle of a quotation, then it should be separated from the quotation marks by punctuation. The best way to correct the sentence above is: "The very old man said, 'I need a lot of help to get through my day, but that doesn't get me down.'"
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
"I can't stand it when my patients say to me, 'I don't want to take that medicine,' as if they are experts on the subject," said the doctor. No error
No error
'I don't want to take that medicine,'
my patients say to me
"I can't stand
said the doctor.
Quotation marks, used to convey that someone is speaking, should always precede the first letter of the quotation, and follow the final punctuation mark of the quotation. If there is an intervening part of the sentence in the middle of a quotation, then it should be separated from the quotation marks by punctuation. Additionally, when there is a quotation in the middle of another quotation, all of the normal rules apply, you merely have to use single quotation marks instead of double quotation marks. The sentence above is correct as written.
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Paul cried out, This is a really bad time for me, please have some pity!" No error
out, This
a really bad
pity!"
No error
me, please
When directly reproducing speech or writing verbatim, one must use quotation marks. If there is an intervening part of the sentence in the middle of a quotation, then it should be separated from the quotation marks by punctuation. The sentence above is missing quotation marks between the comma and the "This." When a sentence has a quotation mark at the end, there will always be a quotation mark at the beginning of the quotation.
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the following sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
As he washed his hands of the dye, he glanced up at a sign reminding employees "to wash their hands and report any health issues" before returning to their work. No error
"to wash their hands and report any health issues"
dye,
reminding
their
No error
Although the sentence does refer to what the sign says, quotation marks are inappropriate because the reference is an indirect quotation. The quotation marks can simply be removed to correct the sentence. If the sentence were rewritten to refer to the specific language the sign used, quotation marks would be correct. For example: As he washed his hands of the dye, he glanced up at a sign blaring, "EMPLOYEES: Remember to wash your hands and report any health concerns to your superiors before returning to work."
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
“I’d love to go to the game with you,” his girlfriend said, “but first you’ll have to lend me money for the tickets.” No error
No error
"I'd
you,"
said,
"but first
This sentence is perfectly punctuated. Because the sentence of speech is broken up in the middle with a dialogue tag, commas are used after “you” and after “said” to set off that dialogue tag. (If the spoken part was two sentences long, however, you would have to use a period after “said” and a capital B for “but,” since you would be starting a new sentence after the dialogue tag.)
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
I’ve told my coworkers over and over that they must “remember to wash their hands” after handling money, but they always seem to forget. No error
"remember to wash their hands"
they
No error
over and over
money,
Quotation marks should only be used to set off direct speech from the rest of a sentence. In this case, the speaker is recalling what he or she usually tells his or her coworkers, and he or she is doing so using indirect speech. Indirect speech never requires quotation marks, so there should be no quotation marks in this sentence.