How to quote a sentence? (2025)

There are many ways to quote a sentence, but which one is the standard use?

Students often write as:
Just as sb. said, "Imagination is most important."

I correct it as:
Just as sb. said, imagination is most important.
or
Sb. once said, "Imagination is most important."

And there are sentences like:
Just as the saying goes, "Honesty is the best policy."
Just as the saying goes: "Honesty is the best policy."
Just as the saying goes: Honesty is the best policy.
Just as the saying goes, honesty is the best policy.

I think the last one is the best one, right? But are the others also acceptable?

In addition, how to write the following sentence in a correct way?
There is a saying which goes "honesty is the best policy." or
There is a saying which goes "Honesty is the best policy."

I'm really puzzled by all of them.
Waiting for your help!

Here's a page on using quotation marks from Dr. Charles Beard's grammar website: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/quotation.htm The coverage is pretty thorough, so this may well be enough to answer all your questions about them.

It's important to remember that rules concerning punctuation change from one source to another. Many writers in the U.S. use the rules in The Chicago Manual of Style or The MLA Style Manual.

ewie said:

It's also worth remembering, Tina, that punctuation conventions (I'm reluctant to call them 'rules') differ between the US and the UK, etc.

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That's an important point, Ewie. "Conventions" is a much better word.

Tina, if you want a good, basic style manual for U.S. English, you can go to this link: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/stylemanual/browse.html

Here you'll find the U.S. Government Printing Office style manual. It covers all punctuation thoroughly.

Here's one for UK English:
http://www.informatics.sussex.ac.uk/department/docs/punctuation/node00.html

(Notice how Mr.Owl writes U.S. while I write UK)

tina fang said:

There are many ways to quote a sentence, but which one is the standard use?

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Here's my try at correcting your examples. It uses the link provided in owlman5's first post as a reference, drawing in particular on three of the statements:

[A] "Use quotation marks to set off material that represents quoted or spoken language."

"Following a form of to say [...], you'll almost always need a comma: My father always said, 'Be careful what you wish for.'"

[C] "If the quoted speech follows an independent clause yet could be part of the same sentence, use a colon to set off the quoted language: My mother's favorite quote was from Shakespeare: 'This above all, to thine own self be true.'"

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1. Just as sb. said, "Imagination is most important."
2. Just as sb. said, imagination is most important. [A] (quotation marks missing)
3. Sb. once said, "Imagination is most important."
4. Just as the saying goes, "Honesty is the best policy."
5. Just as the saying goes: "Honesty is the best policy." [C] (first part is not an independent clause)
6. Just as the saying goes: Honesty is the best policy. [C] (first part is not an independent clause)
7. Just as the saying goes, honesty is the best policy. (?) (perhaps in informal writing.)
8. There is a saying which goes "honesty is the best policy." (comma missing)
9. There is a saying which goes "Honesty is the best policy." (comma missing)

Here is another, contrasting, viewpoint that uses Larry Trask's advice on the link ewie posted.
Please consider my strikeouts and s to be opinion, nothing more.

Just as Janet said, imagination is most important.
Why?
Because I am telling you that imagination is most important, and using Janet as a reference to back me up.

Janet once said "Imagination is most important."
This time, I am directly quoting what Janet said, so I use quotation marks.
Notice that I removed the comma.

And there are sentences like:

I am not quoting anyone, simply repeating a common saying.

I can think of no reason for the colon.

Just as the saying goes, honesty is the best policy.
This version looks perfectly OK to me. This is my opinion, backed up by "the saying".

I find the last two sentences a bit more tricky.

There is a saying which goes "Honesty is the best policy."
Here I think I'm quoting a hypothetical sayer of the saying. As it is a compete sentence, it begins with a capital letter.

This, copied from Larry Trask's section on quotation marks, is useful:

panjandrum said:

Notice that I removed the comma.

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Having taken part of your opinions, I am prepared to revise my "list of corrections" so that it corresponds to yours, except in the case of sentences #3 and #9. Even so, I feel that that difference in opinion falls into the category of personal taste rather than that of rule.

3. Somebody once said, "Imagination is most important." I prefer a comma here. The advice from the link referenced in my previous post is:

Punctuation around quoted speech or phrases depends on how it fits into the rest of your text. If a quoted word or phrase fits into the flow of your sentence without a break or pause, then a comma may not be necessary: The phrase "lovely, dark and deep" begins to suggest ominous overtones.

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I feel that in the case of Somebody once said, "Imagination is most important," the quoted phrase needs a pause in order to fit into the flow of the sentence. Without a comma, I would remove the quotation marks: Somebody once said imagination is most important.

9. There is a saying which goes "Honesty is the best policy." (I am missing a comma here for the reason mentioned above.)