Punctuating quoted speech in Spanish

The idea

Introduce a quotation after a reporting clause with a colon. Close the quotation before the sentence’s final period or a following comma; question and exclamation marks belonging to the quotation stay inside.

Examples

• La guía dijo: «El museo abre mañana».The guide said, “The museum opens tomorrow.”
• «Llegaremos temprano», anunció el equipo.“We will arrive early,” the team announced.
• El cartel decía: «Entrada gratuita».The sign said, “Free admission.”
• La vecina preguntó: «¿Cuándo empieza la feria?».The neighbor asked, “When does the fair start?”
• «¡Qué buena noticia!», exclamó el cocinero.“What good news!” exclaimed the cook.
• El mensaje decía: «Traed agua», y salimos.The message said, “Bring water,” and we left.

Watch out

Do not place the final period inside the closing quotation mark in Spanish. A quoted question retains its own question marks.

Try it yourself

1. A sign reads “Closed today”. What encloses the exact words in Spanish? (comillas / paréntesis)

   Show answer or example answer

   comillas

   comillas enclose the exact words on the sign.

2. A sentence ends with a quoted statement. Where does the full stop go relative to the closing quotation mark? (fuera / dentro)

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   fuera

   fuera places the full sentence’s period after the closing mark.

3. A quoted question ends the sentence. Where do its question marks go relative to the quotation marks? (dentro / fuera)

   Show answer or example answer

   dentro

   dentro keeps the question marks with the quoted question.

Use it today

Write a reporting clause and a quoted question, then check the closing mark and period.