Newsroom101


Commas with Quotes

Note: Misusing commas with quotes and paraphrases is one of the 20 most common grammatical errors committed by journalism students.

Before Quotes. Rule: Introduce a direct quote with a comma, like this:
The president said, "I will veto this bill."

Weird exception peculiar to AP style: If the quote contains more than one sentence, introduce it with a colon.
The president said: "I will veto this bill. I will send it back to Congress."

But do NOT use a comma to introduce an indirect quotation:
The president said he would veto the bill.
The president said [no comma] he would veto the bill.

Likewise, do NOT use a comma to introduce a partial quotation:

The president said the bill would be going "back to Congress."

The president said [no comma] the bill would be going [no comma] "back to Congress."

After Quotes. Note this example:

"I will veto this bill," the president said.

Notice:
  • It is a direct quote.
  • It is followed by attribution ("the president said.")
  • The quote ends with a comma, then the attribution starts.
  • The comma, as always, comes inside the quotation marks. (That's another rule.)
Now note this example:
"Will I veto this bill?" the president asked.

Notice:
  • The quote itself ends with a question mark. 
  • There is (naturally) NO comma after the question mark.
  • This rule applies also to a quote that ends in an exclamation point!
Practice
Practice using commas with quotes, indirect quotes and paraphrases.

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