' vs "

abc   Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:08 pm GMT
when are we supposed to use single quotation marks as opposed to the double ones
Jim   Wed Feb 22, 2006 12:15 am GMT
That depends on the style you choose. In U.S. English double ones are usually used first.* In Commonwealth English it's the single ones which are usually used first. However I don't think things are quite as black & white as that. I'm Australian but I've always used this so-called U.S. style. I'd been using it for so many years before I even knew there was a difference. Then on the other hand, I have seen Australian stuff using Commonwealth style.

* What I mean by "first" this. We alternate between single and double when putting inverted commas within inverted commas.
Uriel   Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:36 am GMT
Jim is right. In the US system you use double quotation marks for your main quote, and the single ones to denote a quote-within-a-quote. I believe the British system is the opposite.
abc   Wed Feb 22, 2006 3:31 am GMT
Thanx to all of you guys including you Stan
David   Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:32 pm GMT
It's not really a US vs UK thing. You can use whichever style you like, but consistency is important.
Uriel   Sat Feb 25, 2006 1:19 am GMT
Actually, David, you will almost never see a main quote in single quotation marks in the US.