Inverted commas are used to show direct speech. They are also known as speech marks. They are placed before and after the exact words a character says. “Shall we go to Grandpa’s house?” asked Sally.

AS THE question implies, to describe quotation marks as inverted commas is only half true. The reason is that printed characters have evolved from hand scripts. If you draw curved quotation marks by ...

They are inaudible and unpronounceable. They do not exist in spoken English—they are at best a pause rather than a presence: no one (with apologies to those listening to this article in our audio ...