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  • Word comparison: single quotes vs. double quotes

single quotes vs. double quotes

single quotes vs. double quotes: 's the difference?

Single quotes refers to one pair of single quotation marks (sometimes known as apostrophes), and are used when quoted material is found within other quoted material or when there’s a title within quoted material, as in She said, “My friend texted, ‘Have you seen the movie ‘Encanto’ yet?’ĝ Double quotes refers to one pair of double quotation marks used for direct quotes, as in the prior example, and to mark off titles of works and people’s nicknames when not being directly quoted.

single quotes

plural noun

  1. one pair of single quotation marks, written as (‘ ’) and used especially for a quotation within another quotation:

    He said, “I told you to say ‘Open, sesame’ when you want to enter the mountain.”

double quotes

plural noun

  1. one set of double quotation marks (“ ”), as usually appear around quoted material.