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For exampleīran’s Old Nan described the white walkers asĬold things, dead things, that hated iron and fire and the touch of the sun, and every creature with hot blood in its veins. For example, a block quote might “blend in” to its introduction in that case, the introduction wouldn’t need a colon.
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Just to confirm Benjamin’s feeling that these rules are a bit “dicey,” let’s mention that sometimes they can overlap and overrule one another. When to Freak Out and Run Screaming Down the Street The text being indented already marks it as a direct quotation. One thing to note is that a block quotation, unlike a regular quotation, is not surrounded by quotation marks. You’re like one of those birds from the Summer Isles, aren’t you? A pretty little talking bird, repeating all the pretty little words they taught you to recite. You do this when introducing a block quotation-that is, a long quotation that’s indented from the rest of the text. Tyrion had sage advice for the singer: “Close your eyes and pretend you’re dead.”įinally, you can use a period to introduce a quotation. Here are a couple of examples:ĭaenerys often speaks one frightening word: “Dracarys.” You’d do that when the quotation is being introduced by a grammatically complete sentence-also known as an independent clause. It was the third time he had called her “boy.” “I’m a girl,” Arya objected.įat Tom used to call her “Arya Underfoot” because he said that was where she always was.īut you can also use a colon to introduce a quotation. If the quotation blends in, the comma comes out. Second, ask yourself whether the quotation blends into the rest of the sentence-or, speaking grammatically, if it’s a syntactical part of the surrounding sentence. Tyrion Lannister said that “a mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone.” Lord Varys wonders whether “we’ve grown so used to horror we assume there’s no other way.” In certain cases, you can skip the comma when introducing a quotation.įirst, skip the comma if the quotation is introduced by a conjunction like “that,” “whether,” or “if.” Following that guidance, I might write sentences like this:Įddard Stark is constantly reminding people that “winter is coming.” “Bran,” said, “I’m sorry I didn’t come before.” “What the king dreams,” said, “the Hand builds.” You can also use commas when a quotation is interrupted by a phrase like “he said” or “she said.” In fact, you use two commas. Tyrion Lannister undid his scarf, mopped at his brow, and said in a flat voice, “How interesting.” Maester Luwin said, “Bran, the children of the forest have been gone for thousands of years.” As an Amazon Associate and a Affiliate, QDT earns from qualifying purchases.