QUOTATION MARKS
Make a shape collage representing the two
opposing ideas in the poem. Try to vividly
describe “summer” and “winter” as
described in the poem and in relation to
what’s happening to Mother Earth at
present. You could cut pictures from
magazines or newspapers and paste them
on an oslo paper. Be sure to form an icon/
symbol that could best represent your
response to the poem on how you perceive
nature’s limits and how you can respond
to it positively.
USE OF QUOTATION MARKS
Rule 1: Periods and commas always go inside
the quotation marks, even inside single
quotes.
Examples:
The sign changed from “Plant,” to “Don’t
Plant,” to “Plant” again within 30
seconds.
She said, “Water the plants.”
Rule 2: The placement of question marks
with quotes follows logic. If a question is in
quotation marks, the question mark should
be placed inside the quotation marks.
Examples:
She asked, “Do you love Mother Earth?”
Do you agree with the saying, “Mother
Earth is the answer to all our needs”?
Rule 3: When you have a question
outside quoted material and inside
quoted material, use only one question
mark and place it inside the quotation
mark.
Example:
Did she say, “May I plant more
trees?”
Rule 4: Use single quotation marks for
quotes within quotes. Note that the
period goes inside all quote marks.
Example:
He said, “The tree said, ‘Please
don’t cut me down.”
Rule 5: Use quotation marks to set off a
direct quotation only.
Examples:
“When will you be here?” he asked.
He asked when you will be there.
Rule 6: Do not use quotation marks
with quoted material that is more
than three lines in length.
Rule 7: When you are quoting something that
has a spelling or grammar mistake or
presents material in a confusing way, insert
term sic in italics and enclose it in brackets.
Sic means, “This is the way the original
material was.”
Example:
The farmer said, “I would rather die
then [sic] uproot the trees to build a
house.”
Should be than, not then.
ACTIVITY:
Read the following story and
highlight the sentences that use
quotation marks. Take note of how
quotation marks are used to add
more information to the text.
A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN I CANNOT
FORGET
I can still remember what she looked like, that
beautiful face and that charming smile. I recall
when I dreamt of this extraordinary beautiful
woman, who stood before me and opened my eyes
to reality. While I was walking along the garden
path, a woman appeared before me out of
nowhere. She suddenly held my hand and spoke to
me gently…
She asked me, “Do you know me”?
And hesitation, I replied, “Who are you?”
“I am your mother, your mother who cares for you
very much. I raised you to be the young boys and
girls you are now. And I long for your care and
love”.
I looked around if there were other boys and girls
around, but there was no one there except me.
Why did she call me “boys and girls?” But then
suddenly, I noticed unique things about her, she
was so beautiful with her green hair, as green as
the fresh grasses on the hillside. Her blue eyes
twinkled as if they’re talking to me, much like the
waves do when they come ashore. Her sun-kissed
skin was as refreshing as the damp soil and her red
lips spoke with the love a mother would give her
children. I was really caught by this wild
imagination. Then she finally spoke, “I am Mother
Earth.”
I stood still and then she asked me, “Do you
believe in the saying, “Only a mother could give
her young the best care they need”? It is I who
could and would, provide you with only the best.
And that is because I love you.”
“Why are you here”? I asked.
“I came here to awaken you, the people of the
Earth. I want to remind you of your tasks as
caretakers of the Earth, and your responsibility
towards your mother. I want you to make a
change, to make up for the things you have done,
before it’s too late.”
And she added, “May I make a request”?
“I’d like to see the fields green and abundant once
more, the air crisp and fresh to breathe and the
waters as blue as the sky. I’d like to see the birds
flying freely, the animals running across the fields
and the fishes governing the seas. I’d like to see
the environment free from pollution, from man’s
abuses and irresponsibility. And with this, start to
plant a seedling, water a plant, or pick up trash.
Start simply by saying, “I love Mother Earth”!
I suddenly woke up from sheep and said to myself,
“What have I done lately to preserve the
environment? Have I done anything useful and
worthy of my mother’s love?”
