Meaning of inverted comma | Babel Free

Definitions

A type of paired quotation mark: ‘ or “ (beginning the quoted material) and ’ or ” (ending it).

Commonwealth, plural-normally

Equivalents

Examples

“The paſſage quoted in the text is at the latter part of the following letter, and is put⟳ between inverted commas.”

“Some of the papers, with questionable taste⟳, present⟳ Mrs. [Alice Roosevelt] Longworth to their readers as the American “Princess.” There is nothing in her ways, bearing, or appearance to warrant the epithet which I give⟳, as printed, in inverted commas.”

“The following paradigm will serve⟳ to illustrate⟳ what we mean⟳ by this term: (37) (a) ‘Will I get⟳ a degree?ʼ John wondered (37) (b) John wondered whether he would get⟳ a degree (37) (c) John wondered would he get⟳ a degree The italicised sequence in (37) (a) is said to be an instance of direct⟳ speech: John's exact words are recorded verbatim, and are bounded in the spelling by a question⟳ mark⟳ and inverted commas; points to note⟳ here include⟳ the use⟳ of the present⟳ tense Auxiliary will, the inversion of the Auxiliary, and the use⟳ of the first person pronoun I to represent⟳ the speaker.”

CEFR level