PUNCTUATION BEFORE AND AFTER QUOTE-MARKS
Quotations of isolated words or phrases, as in the last example, do not need a dash, comma, or colon after the introductory clause. Nor is a point always needed when the quoted words are long enough to make an independent sentence, as in:
Cobbett's remark, that "the apostrophe ought to be called the mark, not of elision, but of laziness and vulgarity," is as true now as it was then.
In this example the flow of thought and expression is continuous; there is no break in language, and a point is not needed after the word that.
When the quotation is long, or when it is introduced in a formal manner, it is usually preceded by a colon, as:
In describing the influence of a great orator over an audience, Sheridan says: "Notwithstanding the diversity of minds in such a multitude, by the lightning of eloquence they are melted into one mass; the whole assembly, actuated in one and the same way, become, as it were, but one man, and have but one voice. The universal cry is, Let us march against Philip! let us fight for our liberties! let us conquer or die!"
Quotation-marks should be separated by a thin space from adjacent or abutting letters when they press them too closely. When a closing quote is at the end of a clause or sentence that also ends
