speech marks meaning

What are speech marks? Examples and how to use them

In this guide, learn what speech marks are and take a look at some examples!

Author Eliana Sk

Published April 14, 2022

Author Jane Doe

Learn what speech marks are and take a look at some examples!

Author Eliana Doe

• Key takeaways
• Speech marks are special punctuation marks that show the exact words someone has spoken
• Speech marks look like this: “ ”
• Knowing the difference between direct speech and indirect speech can help us know how to use speech marks

Table of contents

What are speech marks?

Where are speech marks used, how to use speech marks.

From novels to news reports, speech marks are used in all sorts of places! In this guide, we take a look at what they are, where they’re used and some handy rules to keep in mind when using them.

Speech marks are special punctuation marks that show the exact words someone has spoken.

They’re also known as quotation marks and inverted commas, and they always appear in pairs at the beginning and end of what was said.

This is what they look like:  “ ”

And here’s an example of some speech marks in action:

“The words that appear between speech marks are the exact words that someone has said,” said the teacher.

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You can find speech marks everywhere. They’re common in stories, news articles, poetry and essays. By showing when someone is speaking, speech marks can help make a text more lively and easier to read.

In a story, speech marks may show which of the characters is speaking. For example, in a children’s book you may read:

“We always eat in the garden,” said Markus.

In a news article, speech marks can be used to show a statement made by an expert. For example:

Economists say that “the increase in production will help the job market to grow”.

Explore speech marks with DoodleEnglish

DoodleEnglish is an award-winning app that’s filled with thousands of questions and games exploring spelling, grammar and punctuation!

Designed by teachers, it creates each child a unique work programme tailored to their needs, boosting their skills with just 10 minutes of use a day. Try it free!

When do children learn about speech marks?

Children usually start learning about speech marks around the age of 7.

Before they learn about speech marks, they’ll first be taught about other forms of punctuation, including full stops, commas, exclamation marks and question marks.

Being able to tell the difference between direct and indirect speech will help children to effectively use speech marks.

• Direct speech:  shows the exact words that were spoken by a person or character. Speech marks are used at the beginning and end of direct speech to represent what someone has said.
• Indirect speech:  shows what someone said without using their exact words. Speech marks aren’t used in these cases.
• A  reporting clause  will let a reader know who said the direct speech and how they said it.

You should always separate direct speech from the reporting clause by a comma.

This may sound a little complicated, but if we look at an example it will all be clearer.

Anne said, “It’s snowing!”

In this example, ‘Anne said’ is the reporting clause, as it lets us know that it was Anne who spoke. This clause is separated by a comma from Anne’s direct speech, which is represented by the text between the speech marks (“It’s snowing!”).

If you’re writing a conversation between multiple people, reporting clauses can also help to clarify who’s speaking, and when.

Speech mark examples

Let’s take a look at some examples of speech marks in actions. These will help us better understand the different uses of speech marks.

The teacher said that Anthony’s story was “exceptionally written” and that’s why she read it to the whole class.

In this example, a fragmented part of the teacher’s statement is quoted. This is why the statement isn’t capitalised and has no punctuation before or within the quotation marks.

Markus laughed, “Did you see how high I jumped?”

“I know! It was amazing!” Adriana agreed.

In this example, two different people are speaking. The reporting clauses (‘Marcus laughed’ and ‘Adriana agreed’) shows us who is speaking. Each speaker is also placed on a new line to help the reader see that a new person has started speaking.

“It’s amazing,” William exclaimed, “there are bubbles everywhere!”

In this example, the statement made by William is separated by the reporting clause. This is a fun way of adding some character to your writing when using speech marks.

“Polar bears are my favourite real animals,” Mario said. He then told us about the mythical animals he likes more than polar bears.

This is an interesting example because only part of what Mario said is directly written down. The rest is summarised in indirect speech, and this is why there are no speech marks in the second sentence.

How to use speech marks when writing

If you’d like to quote a phrase or statement, using speech marks will show the reader that these aren’t your original words.

Speech marks are also a great way to give emphasis to certain phrases.

If you’re writing stories, they’ll also help to separate when the different characters are talking. Keep in mind that speech is a faster way of moving a story forward, so be careful about how much you use them!

General rules for using speech marks

There are a few helpful rules to keep in mind when using speech marks:

• Sentences made by different characters or people will need to be in separate lines
• If you’re using a person’s full statement, the punctuation of the sentence will need to be within the quotation marks. This includes full stops, exclamation marks, and question marks.
• If a reporting clause is before the speech marks, you’ll need a comma to separate the two. This comma will be before the speech marks.
• If a reporting clause comes in the middle of two quoted sentence parts, you’ll need a comma at the end of the speech marks in the first part and at the beginning of the speech marks in the second part of the sentence

Final thoughts

Using speech marks is relatively easy once you realise they’re only used to express what someone said. When writing an essay or story, speech marks can also help to make your writing more interesting and lively!

To learn even more about speech marks, why not download the  DoodleEnglish app ?

It’s filled with interactive exercises exploring the topic, making it the perfect way to put your learning into practice.

Best of all, it’s designed to be used for just 10 minutes a day — and you can try it for absolutely free!

FAQs about speech marks

Speech marks are punctuation marks that show the words someone has spoken. They’re also known as quotation marks and inverted commas.

If we look at an example: Peter said, “It’s raining!”

‘Peter said’ is a reporting clause, as it lets us know that it was Peter who spoke.

This clause is separated by a comma from Peter’s direct speech, which is represented by the text between the speech marks (“It’s raining!”).

You should use speech marks each time someone speaks.

Speech marks are also called ‘inverted commas’.

You should use inverted commas whenever someone speaks in your writing.

Single speech marks (‘ ‘) can be used to replace double quotation marks (” “) when they’re inside of double quotation marks.

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When do you use quotation marks (‘ ’) or (“ ”) in English? - Easy Learning Grammar

Direct speech.

• to draw attention to a word
• to indicate an unusual use of a word
• to suggest that the writer want to be distanced from a word.

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• English Grammar
• Punctuation
• Quotation Marks

Quotation Marks - Definition, Types, Rules and Examples

Are you a person who often uses air quotes to quote something when you speak? Well, you would probably know how to use quotation marks in writing as well. Even if you do not know much about the use of quotation marks, there is nothing to worry about. In this article, you will learn all that you need to know about quotation marks, its types, functions and usage. You can also go through the number of examples given for an in-depth understanding of the same.

Table of Contents

What are quotation marks – meaning and definition, single quotation marks, double quotation marks, using quotation marks in sentences – points to remember, check your understanding of the usage of quotation marks in sentences, frequently asked questions on the usage of quotation marks.

Quotation marks, also called speech marks, are one of the punctuation marks in English which can be used to quote the exact words of the speaker in a sentence and also to indicate names, titles and so on. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines ‘quotation marks’ as “a pair of marks (‘  ’) or ( “ ” ) placed around a word, sentence, etc. to show that it is what somebody said or wrote, that it is a title or that you are using it in an unusual way.” According to the Cambridge Dictionary, quotation marks are defined as “the symbols “ ” or ‘ ’ that are put around a word or phrase to show that someone else has written or said it”.

The Collins Dictionary gives a much clearer definition of the usage of quotation marks in a sentence. According to them, “either of the punctuation marks used to begin or end a quotation, respectively “ and ” or ‘ and ’ in English printing and writing. When double marks are used, single marks indicate a quotation within a quotation, and vice versa.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary also gives a hint of the function of quotation marks in the following words, “one of a pair of punctuation marks ” ” or ‘ ‘ used chiefly to indicate the beginning and the end of a quotation in which the exact phraseology of another or of a text is directly cited.”

Types of Quotation Marks with Examples

In the English language , there are two types of quotation marks namely,

• Single quotation marks and
• Double quotation marks

They vary in their usage and perform different functions in a sentence. Take a look at how these two types of quotation marks are used in sentences.

Single quotation marks, also called ‘inverted commas’, are mainly used to quote names, book titles, movie titles, characters and specific terms that are given more importance than usual.

For example:

• We finally found ‘the coat’.

In the above example, ‘the coat’ is placed within single quotation marks as it specifically refers to a particular coat that they should have been looking for a long time.

• Our English teacher asked us to read ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ before Friday.
• My brother and his friend, Philip went to watch ‘Don’ at the new theatre.
• The acronym, ‘WFH’, meaning ‘Work from Home’, has been used very frequently by youngsters and adults alike.

In the above examples, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, ‘Don’ and ‘WFH’ are placed within single quotation marks as they are the title of a play, the name of a movie and a particular acronym,

Double quotation marks are chiefly used to quote something someone said in their exact words, as in direct speech. They can also be used to cite something that is written or said by another person or author.

• “I had a dream”, said Martin Luther King. Likewise, I do too.
• Nick said, “I enjoy watching musicals.”

In the above sentences, you will see that “I had a dream” is a particular citation and so placed within double quotation marks. The second sentence quotes the exact words of Nick; therefore, they are placed within double quotation marks.

The first and most fundamental rule to be followed when using quotation marks is that you have to close the quotation marks. You can never leave quotation marks open as they are always used in pairs. Also, since quotation marks are meant to quote specific terms, words, sentences and paragraphs, you have to mark the end of whatever is quoted.

There is yet another point that you have to bear in mind. Never use quotation marks unnecessarily. Any punctuation mark, for that matter, has to be used only where it has to be used; otherwise, it would make the sentence look flawed and also alter the meaning of the sentence.

Use appropriate quotation marks wherever necessary in the following sentences.

1. Naomi said, I feel very excited as it is the first day of work.

2. Have you read The Pilgrim’s Progress?

3. Shakespeare once said, All the world’s a stage and we are all actors.

4. The Ice Age: Collision Course is the last one of the Ice Age movie sequels.

5. Have you ever heard of FOMO?

6. Terry said, I have been promoted to be head of sales for the entire northern division.

7. The crowd cheered, An absolute hero!

8. Nothing’s gonna change my love for you is my mom’s favourite song.

9. Who is the class leader? asked the Principal.

10. A Sensible Heart is a psychoanalytic novel.

Now, find out if you used the right quotation marks in the right places from the answers given below,

1. Naomi said, “ I feel very excited as it is the first day of work. ”

2. Have you read ‘ The Pilgrim’s Progress ’ ?

3. Shakespeare once said, “ All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. ”

4. The ‘ Ice Age: Collision Course ‘ is the last one of the Ice Age movie sequels.

5. Have you ever heard of ‘ FOMO ’ ?

6. Terry said, “ I have been promoted to be head of sales for the entire northern division. ”

7. The crowd cheered, “ An absolute hero! ”

8. ‘ Nothing’s gonna change my love for you ’ is my mom’s favourite song.

9. “ Who is the class leader? ”, asked the Principal.

10. ‘ A Sensible Heart ’ is a psychoanalytic novel.

What are quotation marks?

Quotation marks, also called speech marks, are one of the punctuation marks in English which can be used to quote the exact words of the speaker in a sentence and also to indicate names, titles and so on.

What is the definition of quotation marks?

The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines ‘quotation marks’ as “a pair of marks (‘  ’) or ( “ ” ) placed around a word, sentence, etc. to show that it is what somebody said or wrote, that it is a title or that you are using it in an unusual way.” According to the Cambridge Dictionary, quotation marks are defined as “the symbols “ ” or ‘ ’ that are put around a word or phrase to show that someone else has written or said it”.

What are the two types of quotation marks?

There are two types of quotation marks in the English language namely,

• Single quotation marks

Give some examples of sentences using quotation marks.

Here are a few examples of sentences to show you how quotation marks can be used.

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Punctuation in direct speech

We use inverted commas (also called quotation marks, quotes or speech marks) to indicate direct speech. Double quotes (") are preferred in American English, while single quotes (') are more common in British English:

" I'm coming home late tonight, " she said. (American English) ' I'm coming home late tonight, ' she said. (British English)

If we quote within direct speech, we use the other style for the embedded quotation:

"She said, ' I'm coming home late tonight ', " recalled Jim. (American English) 'She said, " I'm coming home late tonight ", ' recalled Jim. (British English)

As can be seen in the examples above, a comma ( , ) is used at the end of the quotation, before the closing speech mark.

A comma is also used before the quotation if we start the sentence with the reporting clause. In this case the terminal full stop (.) comes before the closing speech mark:

She added , "Don't expect me before 11 . "

If the quotation is a question or exclamation, the terminal marks ( ? and ! ) also come before the closing speech marks:

"Hurry up ! " he shouted. She asked, "Am I late ? "

The quotation normally begins with a capital letter, except if it is interrupted by a reporting clause, in which case the first letter of the continuation is not capitalised:

" I 'm coming home late tonight," she said and added, " d on't expect me before 11."

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Style Manual

Secondary navigation, quotation marks.

Quotation marks draw attention to words and reference certain kinds of titles. Write most direct speech in single quote marks. For long quotes, use block quotes without quotation marks.

Quote direct speech in single quote marks

Single quotation marks are also known as ‘quote marks’, ‘quotes’, ‘speech marks’ or ‘inverted commas’.

Use them to:

• show direct speech and the quoted work of other writers
• enclose the title of certain works
• draw attention to a word you’re defining.

Double quotation marks aren’t Australian Government style. Use them only for quotations within quotations.

Short quotations of direct speech are enclosed in single quotation marks.

• ‘ Yes, that’s all that happened, ’ she replied.
• The opposition leader asked, ‘ But where’s the money going to come from? ’

Don’t use quotation marks for long quotations. Instead, use block quotes.

Quotes within quotes

For quotations within quotations, use double quotation marks inside single ones.

He also wrote, ‘ The decisions of the department for “ major procurement ” were always political choices. ’

Omissions in direct speech

When quoting direct speech, take great care to be accurate. Writers and publishers have been sued for inaccurate quotations attributed as direct speech.

If you use ellipses for omitted words, ensure that the omission won’t mislead readers about the content or tone of the source you’re quoting.

• He said, ‘ I don’t agree with the proposal because we need to do more research. ’
• He said, ‘ I don’t agree with the proposal … ’
• He said, ‘ I don’t agree with the proposal. ’
• He said, ‘ I … agree with the proposal. ’

If the quotation needs the information for context, add specific detail in  square brackets . You must be sure that the specific detail is correct and that it retains the meaning intended by the original speaker.

‘ The [ Queensland ] government agrees. ’

If you paraphrase omitted material, place the paraphrasing in square brackets.

‘ They all listened to [ the new manager’s ] speech. ’

Errors in quoted material

Quoted material sometimes contains a spelling or grammatical error. 

To show the error is in the original, insert an italicised ‘ sic ’ in non-italicised square brackets after the error. This shows the reader that the error comes from the original.

The email read, ‘ At the time, the population of Sydney was much higher than Melberne [ sic ] . ’

Non-Australian English quotes

In quoted material use the original spelling of the quoted material, even if it uses US spellings such as ‘color’. The capitalisation of words must also be the same as in the original.

If the US material uses the US conventions for quotation marks, you can update them to the Australian convention.

Australian style

The President said, ‘ The Prime Minister told me “ No ” , so I’m working on an updated plan. ’

The President said, “ The Prime Minister told me ‘ No, ’ so I’m working on an updated plan. ”

Format long quotes as block quotes with no quotation marks

Quotations that are longer than about 30 words are:

• usually indented from the text margin
• sometimes set in a smaller font size or a different font.

When they are set like this, they are called   ‘block quotations’.

Don’t use quotation marks to identify the quoted material – the formatting does that instead. Block quotes should also be coded with the HTML <blockquote> element.

As Templeton (2019) writes:

According to the ACT Auditor-General, the transport benefits from the project are projected to be lower than the costs. She noted other benefits that had been included by the ACT Government to justify the project.

To include several paragraphs of quoted speech without the attribution tag, such as in a media release, use a quotation mark:

• at the beginning of each paragraph
• at the end of the last paragraph only.
• Dr Nicoll said, ‘ My experience as a public servant helped me learn how to run workshops. 
• ‘ My experience also helps me make my workshops practical. ’

Write speech in transcripts and plays with no quotation marks

Quotation marks are unnecessary in transcripts and plays if the name of the speaker comes before the direct speech.

• Senator MARCELLUS: Look at the latest report. These results aren’t great.
• Dr BERNARDO: I’ve seen this happen before. It looks like we might be over budget.

The same applies for questions and answers (Q&As).

Q. Have you ever been convicted of an offence, other than a parking or speeding offence?

Refer to certain kinds of titles using quotation marks

When referring to these titles, use quotation marks in references and citations :

• a chapter in a book or report
• an article in a periodical

Read the chapter titled ‘ Number and natural language ’ in The innate mind: structure and contents. It describes how people learn to recognise numbers.

Draw attention to words using quotation marks

You can use quotation marks instead of italics to make words stand out from your sentence. Examples include:

• a technical term on its first mention in a non-technical document
• a word or phrase that has been coined or that you’re using in a specific sense
• colloquial words, nicknames, slang, or ironic or humorous words and phrases, in formal writing.

You don’t usually need to repeat the quotation marks the next time you use the word. They might be useful if the next mention is a long way from the first.

Another use of quotation marks is for words introduced by expressions such as ‘titled’, ‘marked’, ‘the term’ and ‘defined as’.

• The papers were marked ‘ Five Eyes only ’ .
• Can anyone here define ‘ entropion ’ ?
• The survey used the term ‘ companion animal ’ to describe assistance dogs in workplaces.
• He said the new policy was ‘ obviously a great success ’ and then explained its many failings.

Keep quoted punctuation marks in the quote

Punctuation in and after quotation marks depends on the punctuation of the quoted text and how it is used in the content.

If the punctuation mark is part of the quoted text, place the punctuation mark before the closing quotation mark.

• ‘ Is it okay to ask a colleague out for a coffee? ’ I asked the HR section.
• He asked, ‘ Has it arrived? ’

The same rule applies for directly quoted speech followed by the attribution.

• ‘ It has arrived, ’ said the manager.
• ‘ Has it arrived? ’ asked the manager.

If the punctuation mark is part of the sentence outside the quoted text, it follows the closing quotation mark.

• She said that it was ‘ time to start work ’ .
• Many things have been called ‘ the new black ’ , but they usually fade to grey.
• Did the complainant at any time ask you to ‘ Please turn down the noise ’ ?

Quoted material can appear as parenthetical information, enclosed in  parentheses,   dashes or commas . In these cases, place the quotation marks inside the sentence punctuation.

• His stirring speech ( ‘ We shall never surrender ’ ) galvanised the UK and its allies.
• His stirring speech – ‘ We shall never surrender ’ – galvanised the UK and its allies.
• His stirring speech, ‘ We shall never surrender ’ , galvanised the UK and its allies.

If the quotation ends a sentence or is a sentence in its own right, place the final full stop before the final quotation mark.

• She said, ‘ It’s time to start work .’
• ‘ When we get the final figures,’ the manager said, ‘ we’ll know how it will affect our bottom line .’
• ‘ I have the final figures,’ the manager said. ‘ This will ruin our bottom line .’

Sometimes, there are 2 punctuation marks – one for the quotation and one for the sentence. Decide which is stronger and use it. Don’t use both punctuation marks.

• The Speaker called ‘Order ! ’
• Did you hear him say, ‘That’s unlikely’ ?
• The Speaker called ‘Order ! ’ .
• Did you hear him say, ‘That’s unlikely . ’ ?

The surrounding text determines the font (roman, italic, or bold) of the quotation marks. If the content inside the quotation marks is in italics, but the sentence is in roman, use roman for the quotation marks.

• She described it as ‘ weird ’ . [The quotation marks are in roman even though ‘weird’ is in italics.]
• ‘ Wow, ’ he said. [Both the quote marks and the quote are in roman type.]

Release notes

The digital edition revises advice about punctuation used with quotation marks. It departs from advice in the sixth edition about the position of punctuation and quotation marks in sentences interrupted by expressions, such as ‘they said’.

The sixth edition recommended the comma be placed outside the quotation mark, before the expression . The digital edition recommends the comma be placed inside the quotation mark: the quotation mark comes directly before the expression .

The Content Guide had advice on the use of single and double quotation marks, with which the digital edition is consistent.

About this page

Oxford University Press (2016) ‘9.2 Layout of quoted text’, New Oxford style manual , Oxford University Press, Oxford.

University of Chicago (2017) ‘6.40 Commas with quotations’, Chicago manual of style, 17th edn, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Dixon JC and Bolitho B (2005–2019) Course notes and exercises: editing and proofreading for the workplace , Centre for Continuing Education, Australian National University, Canberra.

Houston K (2015) The long and fascinating history of quotation marks ’, Slate , accessed 20 February 2020 .

Microsoft Corporation (2019) Keyboard shortcuts in Word: insert international characters , Microsoft website, accessed 1 December 2019.

Mozilla (n.d.) ‘< blockquote>: The Block Quotation element ’,   HTML elements , MDN Web Docs website, accessed 3 December 2020.

Murphy EM and Cadman H (2014) Effective writing: plain English at work , 2nd edn, Lacuna, 2014.

Owen M (2018) How to type accented letters in macOS three different ways , appleinsider website, accessed 4 December 2019.

Oxford University Press (2016) ‘Quotations and direct speech’, New Oxford style manual , Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Seely J (2001) Oxford everyday grammar , Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Stilman S (2004) Grammatically correct , Writer’s Digest Books, Ohio.

Truss L (2003) Eats, shoots and leaves: the zero tolerance approach to punctuation , Profile Books, London, 2003.

The Unicode Consortium (2019) Unicode , Unicode website, accessed 2 December 2019.

University of Chicago (2017) ‘6.115: “Smart” quotation marks’, Chicago manual of style, 17th edn, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C (n.d.) ‘ HTML <blockquote> tag ’, W3CSchools website, accessed 3 December 2020.

Whitbread D (2009) Design manual, 2nd edn, UNSW Press, Sydney, Australia.

Last updated

This page was updated Monday 24 October 2022.

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Definition of speech marks noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• speech marks
• The author's punctuation goes outside the speech marks.

Want to learn more?

Find out which words work together and produce more natural-sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app. Try it for free as part of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.

Inverted commas (also known as speech marks and quotation marks ) are punctuation marks that show us where direct speech starts and ends.

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Speech marks are not used if we are writing indirect (reported) speech.

How are speech marks used?

Speech marks or inverted commas are used to show what the words actually spoken by a person or character are. Direct speech is separated from a reporting clause by a comma . For example:

As demonstrated in the example, the words spoken directly ( Although I wish they wouldn't my children fight all the time ) are marked by speech marks. The words spoken have also been separated by a reporting clause ( she sighed ).

When two or more people are having a conversation, a new line for each speaker is used , as this clarifies who is speaking. For example:

How are speech marks taught in the primary classroom?

When speech marks are first introduced in Year 3 , there is a lot of use of drama and reading class texts aloud. Children will identify direct speech within texts they are reading as a class. 

In Year 4 there is more focus on multiple speakers.

In Years 5 and 6, children will be taught and expected to use the correct punctuation for speech, with multiple speakers and reporting clauses breaking up the direct speech.

When are speech marks taught in the primary-school classroom?

Inverted commas are first taught in Lower Key Stage 2, in Year 3. As punctuating direct speech is a fundamental primary-school writing objective , the use of speech marks will be reinforced in every subsequent year group.

In Year 3, teachers will focus more on simply punctuating the spoken words with inverted commas to indicate the specific words that have been spoken. In Year 4, this progresses onto using commas to separate the reported clause from the direct speech, and then using other forms of punctuation other than full stops within the inverted commas. For example:

In Years 3 and 4, children learn that the reporting clause can be positioned before or after the direct speech in the sentence.

During the SATs Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation test taken at the end of Year 6, children are also likely to be asked a question about inverted commas and/or the correct punctuation needed to show speech. For example:

By the end of Year 6, when a child’s writing is assessed, they will be expected to use speech to move the action in their stories forward and to punctuate correctly. 

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This page was written by Craig Shrives .

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A Guide to Deciphering Diacritics

What's a diacritic, anyway?

A diacritic is a mark that is placed over, under, or through a letter in some languages to show that the letter should be pronounced in a particular way.

Acute and Grave Accent Marks

The forward-leaning acute accent (  ́ ) generally indicates a stressed syllable or raised pitch. It is commonly found above the letter 'e' in many French words and French borrowings in English, such as exposé , where it indicates that the 'e' is pronounced as a long 'a' and distinguishes the word from another with the same spelling (compare expose ). The acute accent is also placed over vowels in Spanish to mark that the syllable the vowel appears in is stressed, as in adiós .

The backward-leaning grave accent ( ˋ ) is often used to indicate an unaccented syllable or a lower inflection, as in the French-derived à la carte or crème . In poetry, it indicates a falling inflection or a final syllable that is to be pronounced separately in words ending in '-ed.'

Margret stood in her chamber; / She'd sewn a silken seam. / She lookèd east an she lookèd west, / An she saw those woods grow green. — "Tam Lin," The Singing Tradition of Child's Popular Ballads , 1972

The word déjà vu combines both accent marks.

The cedilla (  ̧ ) is the diacritical mark that is placed under the letter 'c,' as in the spelling of the French words façade and garçon , to indicate that the letter is to be pronounced \s\, rather than \k\. Cedilla is from the name of the obsolete Spanish letter 'ç' and is a diminutive form of ceda , itself from zeda , which once denoted the letter 'z.' Actually, the 'ç' was used as a form of 'z' in the Middle Ages. In Late Latin, that letter was referred to as zeta .

The circumflex ( ˆ ) is the mark that goes over a letter. The name comes from a Latin verb meaning "to bend around," and in other languages it is used to mark length, contraction, or another particular pronunciation of a vowel, such as in the French words château , crêpe , and maître d' .

Breve and Haček

The breve ( ˘ ) is a curved mark that is used in written pronunciations to indicate that a vowel is short, as in \kŭt\ for cut, or to show that a syllable is short or unstressed. The word breve is related to brief through the Latin word brevis meaning “brief.”

The haček ( ˇ ) is used in Baltic and Slavonic languages to indicate a change in pronunciation (the last name of the Czech author Karel Čapek bears this diacritic). The name haček is a Czech borrowing meaning, literally, "little hook."

The tilde ( ˜ ) is the mark that is most often seen sitting over the letter 'n' (as in Spanish señor , meaning "sir," and mañana , "tomorrow"), where it indicates a blend of the sounds of 'n' and 'y.' In Portuguese, it may appear over 'a' or 'o,' as in São Paulo , and indicates nasality in pronunciation.

The tilde also occurs as a symbol that is used independently of other characters. This tilde is sometimes used in front of a number to mean "approximately" (e.g., "in ~ 30 minutes"), and it has other advanced mathematical uses related to equivalency and negation.

The diaeresis ( ¨ ) is the mark that is placed over a vowel to indicate that it is pronounced in a separate syllable, as in naïve , Brontë , or Zoë. In the past, it also occurred in words having adjacent vowels that are the same to indicate that they are sounded separately rather than blended, as in coöperate and reëstablish (each of which has four syllables). Diaeresis is from a Greek word meaning "the act of dividing."

In German and Germanic languages (such as Swedish), there is the diaeretic mark called the umlaut , which is placed over a vowel to indicate a more central or front articulation, as in Götterdämmerung and Führer . In orthography, the umlaut may be replaced by an 'e' following the vowel, as in Fuehrer .

The macron ( − ) is the mark placed over a vowel to indicate that it is long or placed over a syllable or used alone to indicate a stressed or long syllable in poetry. You are most likely to encounter it in dictionaries, where it is in written pronunciations of words that include a long vowel sound, as ā in the pronunciation of fate or ē in lead .

A Final Note

Diacritical marks are an integral part of spelling in many foreign languages. In English, words with diacritics are borrowings from other languages—the marks are not a natural part of the English language itself. Although the English borrowings enter the language with their markings, they are often dropped from many spellings through Anglicization. Take, for instance, French naïve , which is commonly spelled naive in English.

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