When writing any variation of dialogue or quote, you offset it with quotation marks. That is one of the few constants of the English language. There is no other purpose for those two little lines, so don't forget to use them. for example:
"My mom is out getting groceries," said Jane. Alex responded, "That's alright." "I'm glad you don't mind, as she is often out on errands."
In all of these cases, the dialogue is surrounded by quotation marks, even if the reply is on its own. You should never, and I mean never, use apostrophes in place of quotation marks. Unless of course, you are quoting another person inside dialogue or a quote, as shown below.
"You won't believe what Michele said earlier!" Sam exclaimed. "What did she say?" Abi asked. "She said, and I quote, 'Kayla is the worst girlfriend ever!'" Abi gasped. "No way!"
In this situation, Sam is directly quoting Michele during his speech. We show this by using apostrophes or single quotes. You can use single quotes all the time, instead of the doubles shown above, but you can see how that might get confusing. I use American English, where double quotes are the most widely accepted standard.
Apostrophes have many uses, so I'll give them their own chapter. But aside from that, you now know how to use quotation marks properly in your writing. Congrats!
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How To Use Basic Grammar
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