Use double quotation marks (" ") to enclose phrases or entire sentences that were taken word for word from someone else. Quotation marks are not needed for paraphrasing. Example: The dog he brings on ...

I love finding examples of random quotation marks in sentences. I've written about this amusing practice before, but I was determined to find fresh examples after a reader asked about them recently.

A few years ago while copy editing an article, I was shocked to see something like this: “I lecture my sales staff about what I call ‘me syndrome,’” Jones said. What shocked me was the punctuation.

Most often, quotation marks are used to show someone’s exact words. Sometimes, they also signal sarcasm or irony. In most cases, there is nothing especially unusual about this little punctuation mark.