1. Using Guillemets (« »):
* French uses guillemets (« ») for quotations, not single or double quotes (' ').
* The opening guillemet is a left-pointing double angle bracket («), and the closing guillemet is a right-pointing double angle bracket (»).
Example:
* *« Je suis un chat », a dit le chat.* ( "I am a cat," said the cat.)
2. Punctuation within Quotes:
* Periods and commas go inside the closing guillemet.
* Colons and semicolons go outside the closing guillemet.
* Question marks and exclamation points go inside the closing guillemet if they belong to the quote, and outside if they belong to the sentence as a whole.
Examples:
* *« Je suis un chat, » a dit le chat.* ( "I am a cat," said the cat.)
* *« Je suis un chat ; » c'est ce qu'il a dit.* ( "I am a cat;" that's what he said.)
* *« Êtes-vous un chat ? » a demandé la souris.* ( "Are you a cat?" asked the mouse.)
* *« Je suis un chat ! » s'est exclamé le chat.* ( "I am a cat!" exclaimed the cat.)
3. Quotations within Quotations:
* For quotations within quotations, use single quotation marks ( ' ').
Example:
* *« Il a dit "Je suis un chat", » a rapporté le chien.* ( "He said 'I am a cat'," reported the dog.)
4. Using "Citation" (Quotation):
* You can also use the word "citation" to introduce a quote:
Example:
* *Citation : « Je suis un chat. »* (Quotation: "I am a cat.")
Important Note:
* French uses a space after the opening and closing guillemets, unlike English.
Let me know if you have any other questions about French grammar!