# Entre comillas



## Maddi

Hi,

I want to know which is the English expression used with the meaning of "entre comillas".

Imagine that I want to say:

"Ahora estoy de vacaciones, con lo cual tengo tiempo libre, bueno, tiempo libre entre comillas, pues no paro desde que me levanto hasta que me acuesto."

So, my question is how to say that "entre comillas"?

Thanks a lot.


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## fuzzzylogix

entre comillas = in quotation marks


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## Alex5

También puede ser "inverted commas". Pero deberíamosinvestigar si existe una equivalencia en inglés para decir que se refiera a que está de vacaciones "pero a medias, no del todo".

Espero haber ayudado.

àlex


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## Danim74

Yo diría (suena más natural en inglés...:

I'm on holiday now, so I have some free time, well, allegedly, because I am busy all day!

Si quieres decir lo que ha dicho otra persona entonces sería "quote, unquote".


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## Paul Clancy

In Ireland we would say inverted commas

for example 

I was on "holiday" ... note the inverted commas! or rather I was supposedly on holiday but ended up checking my emails and answering my work mobile phone so regularly that I might as well have been at the office.  I was  plagued by work for the whole time I was officially on leave.

Quotation marks is also correct but my preference would be for the words "inverted commas" instead in a situation such as you outline.

Un saludo


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## fuzzzylogix

Alex5 said:


> También puede ser "inverted commas". Pero deberíamosinvestigar si existe una equivalencia en inglés para decir que se refiera a que está de vacaciones "pero a medias, no del todo".
> 
> Espero haber ayudado.
> 
> àlex


 
Sorry...never "inverted commas". Cuando dices algo entre comillas es porque se dice sarcásticamente. Tengo tiempo libre, entre comillas. Lo que está diciendo es que no tiene tiempo libre...o si lo tiene, son ratos libres aunque esté de vacaciones.

En inglés se dice: I have free time, in quotation marks.


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## Jorge Jodra

Hello!
In this context:Well, it's just a manner of speaking/it's a figure o speech


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## trevorb

fuzzzylogix said:


> Sorry...never "inverted commas". Cuando dices algo entre comillas es porque se dice sarcásticamente. Tengo tiempo libre, entre comillas. Lo que está diciendo es que no tiene tiempo libre...o si lo tiene, son ratos libres aunque esté de vacaciones.
> 
> En inglés se dice: I have free time, in quotation marks.


 
In the UK, we might say:

I was, quote, "on holiday"
I was, open quotes, "on holiday"
Iwas "on holiday", unquote
But I think more often we signal it by intonation rather than words, or by a (rather irritating, in my opinon!) gesture with two fingers of each hand indicating the quote marks.

Such a remark may be said to be 'in quotes'.

Hope that helps,

Trevor.


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## fenixpollo

trevorb said:


> But I think more often we signal it by intonation rather than words, or by a (rather irritating, in my opinon!) gesture with two fingers of each hand indicating the quote marks .


 I agree that the idea of "entre comillas" is more often expressed with intonation. Many people still hold up the index and middle fingers of each hand and flex them simultaneously as they stress the words that are "in quotes", but for many people, this gesture has become passé, corny, dumb, outdated, silly and/or pretentious.

However, to answer the question about which words to use, I use or hear the following:
I have some, quote, _free time_, unquote.
I have some quote-unquote _free time_.
I supposedly have some _free time_.  





			
				Maddi said:
			
		

> Ahora estoy de vacaciones, con lo cual tengo tiempo libre, bueno, tiempo libre entre comillas, pues no paro desde que me levanto hasta que me acuesto


Right now I'm on vacation, and with that I have some free time, well, _free time_ in quotes, because I never stop, from the time I get up to the time I go to bed.

The italicized words in these examples are stressed in speech with intonation, to indicate the quotation marks around them.

Saludos.


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## Paul Clancy

trevorb said:


> In the UK, we might say:
> I was, quote, "on holiday"
> I was, open quotes, "on holiday"
> Iwas "on holiday", unquote
> But I think more often we signal it by intonation rather than words, or by a (rather irritating, in my opinon!) gesture with two fingers of each hand indicating the quote marks.
> 
> Such a remark may be said to be 'in quotes'.
> 
> Hope that helps,
> 
> Trevor.



I agree .. it is something that is said and not really written ... and yes Trevor, the gesture annoys me too.


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## Paul Clancy

fuzzzylogix said:


> Sorry...never "inverted commas". Cuando dices algo entre comillas es porque se dice sarcásticamente. Tengo tiempo libre, entre comillas. Lo que está diciendo es que no tiene tiempo libre...o si lo tiene, son ratos libres aunque esté de vacaciones.
> 
> En inglés se dice: I have free time, in quotation marks.



I beg to differ, in Ireland we would not say IN QUOTATION MARKS ... it is a forced way of speaking ... we would say QUOTE UNQUOTE if we were to use the quote word.  In Ireland we use inverted commas so you are misguided and incorrect fuzzylogix with the "never" comment ... because it is frequent in Ireland!!! and used in the way you describe.  Asi que cuidado con lo de NEVER/NUNCA!!


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## Paul Clancy

I wanted to clarify for fuzzylogix ... the words "inverted commas" can be used in speech or written in full (ie the words INVERTED COMMAS) in text to imply sarcasm 
inverted commas are also used to denote spoken words in a text

Example

"mind you own business" she said
This is the normal use of inverted commas above

When inverted commas are used in written text or spoken to denote sarcasm such as
I told her I was on "holiday" .... if this were spoken you would say 
I told her I was on holiday quote unquote
I told her I was on holiday in inverted commas


Hope this clarifies fuzzylogix ... quote unquote and inverted commas ... both can be used in Maddi's context


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## fuzzzylogix

Paul Clancy said:


> I wanted to clarify for fuzzylogix ... the words "inverted commas" can be used in speech or written in full (ie the words INVERTED COMMAS) in text to imply sarcasm
> inverted commas are also used to denote spoken words in a text
> 
> Example
> 
> "mind you own business" she said
> This is the normal use of inverted commas above
> 
> When inverted commas are used in written text or spoken to denote sarcasm such as
> I told her I was on "holiday" .... if this were spoken you would say
> I told her I was on holiday quote unquote
> I told her I was on holiday in inverted commas
> 
> 
> Hope this clarifies fuzzylogix ... quote unquote and inverted commas ... both can be used in Maddi's context


 
Could have fooled me...as far as I know, the punctuation marks ("") are called quotation marks and not inverted commas. In normal speech, you "quote" what somebody else said. According to Jim, and I quote, "John's a loser." You never say, According to Jim, and I inverted commas, "John's a loser."

Or as fenixpollo said, According to Jim, _John's a loser_ quote unquote_._

Anyway, as you say, it is frequently used in Ireland. But make no mistake, you won't hear that anywhere in the US, Canada, Sweden (I'm assuming) or all of English speaking Asia including the chinese that speak english - and there's quite a few of those. 

So what do you guys call an apostrophe? A single inverted comma??????


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## romarsan

I've heard "in quotations" I don't know if it is usual or not...


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## Paul Clancy

fuzzzylogix said:


> Could have fooled me...as far as I know, the punctuation marks ("") are called quotation marks and not inverted commas. In normal speech, you "quote" what somebody else said. According to Jim, and I quote, "John's a loser." You never say, According to Jim, and I inverted commas, "John's a loser."
> 
> Or as fenixpollo said, According to Jim, _John's a loser_ quote unquote_._
> 
> Anyway, as you say, it is frequently used in Ireland. But make no mistake, you won't hear that anywhere in the US, Canada, Sweden (I'm assuming) or all of English speaking Asia including the chinese that speak english - and there's quite a few of those.
> 
> So what do you guys call an apostrophe? A single inverted comma??????



I am not going to pick up on the tone of your comment however I will make a number of points:
(a) your sentence .... According to Jim, and I inverted commas, "John's a loser."  ... is not correct English ... "According to I" is incorrect. The Irish would not say it like this and neither would anyone who speaks English correctly.  I agree we would use "quote, unquote" in such a scenario but as I have said before, in general "quote/unquote" or "inverted commas" are used in the spoken form and look a little odd when written down.
(b) linguistic differences exist in spoken and written English across countries where it is the main or national language.  You have obviously only been exposed to the words "quotation marks" and are alarmed, it appears, to learn that they might have a different name elsewhere in the world.  In Ireland we refer to quotation marks as inverted commas.  An apostrophe is just that.  I am well aware that other countries use the words quotation marks ... I was speaking about Ireland .. we know they are referred to as quotation marks abroad but in Eire we call them inverted commas and it is correct to do so.


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## fuzzzylogix

(a) your sentence .... According to Jim, and I inverted commas, "John's a loser." ... is not correct English ... "According to I" is incorrect. 

Of course it is incorrect...but I never said it.


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## heidita

fuzzzylogix said:


> Sorry...never "inverted commas".


 


Paul Clancy said:


> I you are misguided and incorrect fuzzylogix with the "never" comment


 


> But make no mistake, you won't hear that anywhere in the US, Canada, Sweden (I'm assuming) or all of English speaking Asia including the Chinese that speak English - and there's quite a few of those.


 
One should be really careful with the "never" word in any language. 
Are you speaking for all of those people? Well, that's what I call taking a mouth full! No offence. 


fuzzzylogix said:


> Or as fenixpollo said, According to Jim, _John's a loser_ quote unquote_._




Why would you use _quote unquote_ here? No need for that at all. If it is _according to John_, it is quite clear you are quoting his opinion.



> So what do you guys call an apostrophe? A single inverted comma??????


Do you think this sounds funny?


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## fuzzzylogix

Do you think this sounds funny?[/quote]


Nope...not at all. It was a legit question. If quotation marks are called inverted commas, then by logic, an apostrophe should be a single inverted comma. 

No humor intended there.


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## heidita

fuzzzylogix said:


> Nope...not at all. It was a legit question. If quotation marks are called inverted commas, then by logic, an apostrophe should be a single inverted comma.


 
I lived in England and I always used and heard _inverted commas_. Actually, dictating, I always use inverted commas.

open inverted commas----close inverted commas.

There you are, fuzzy, _make no mistake_...but you certainly will hear this in England.

Look at this thread , too.


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## Masood

heidita said:


> I lived in England and I always used and heard _inverted commas_. Actually, dictating, I always use inverted commas.
> 
> open inverted commas----close inverted commas.


Yes, I agree. Although it's still widely used, I think it's more common now to hear in dictation "open quotes....close quotes".

In UK English, there's a _fixed expression_ 'in inverted commas' which is widely used here, conveying a sense of sarcasm or implying that this is not the whole truth. 

Here's a good example.

I think in a grammatical/punctuation context, I'd always refer to them as quotation marks.


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## fenixpollo

fuzzzylogix said:


> (a) your sentence .... According to Jim, and I inverted commas, "John's a loser." ... is not correct English ... "According to I" is incorrect.
> 
> Of course it is incorrect...but I never said it.


Yes, fuzzzy, you did say it.  It's not Paul's sentence, it was yours, and I think that we can all agree that it's gramatically incorrect because "inverted commas" is not a verb. 


fuzzzylogix said:


> You never say, According to Jim, and I inverted commas, "John's a loser."


Paul isn't saying that "inverted commas" is used used as a verb, in the same grammar structures as "quote-unquote"; but that it is a noun that describes the double-apostrophe used to make quotation marks.


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## fuzzzylogix

fenixpollo said:


> Yes, fuzzzy, you did say it. It's not Paul's sentence, it was yours, and I think that we can all agree that it's gramatically incorrect because "inverted commas" is not a verb.
> 
> 
> Paul isn't saying that "inverted commas" is used used as a verb, in the same grammar structures as "quote-unquote"; but that it is a noun that describes the double-apostrophe used to make quotation marks.


 

What I meant was, I didn't say "According to I". I did say inverted commas as a substitute of quote-unquote simply to exemplify how ridiculous it sounds. It was not meant to be read as a verb, but rather the way it is used.


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## Paul Clancy

This thread is beginning to sound like a row!

Thank you Fenixpollo, Masood, Heidita for adding to this debate and for supporting the "inverted commas" which fuzzylogix seems to have such a problem with.  Fuzzylogix ... I am not surprised that Heidita asks about your "single inverted comma" question ... from the tone of the rest of your inputs it sounds like you are just being "smart" (in inverted commas!!)

The English speaking world is a very big place as is the Spanish speaking world and as Heidita rightly observes, as I have earlier, one needs to be very careful in deciding that a particular expression or word  is not correct just because one is not familiar with it.  It is quite clear from the discussion that INVERTED COMMAS is also widely used in the UK as is quotation marks.  In Ireland it would be more common to say inverted commas as I have remarked earlier.  BOTH are correct.

Heidita from the way you have presented your message by quoting comments of forum contributors it looks like the quote " 			 				 But make no mistake, you won't hear that anywhere in the US, Canada, Sweden (I'm assuming) or all of English speaking Asia including the Chinese that speak English - and there's quite a few of those."  was my contribution also ... just for the record it was not ... this was Fuzzylogix's comment not mine.


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## María Madrid

fuzzzylogix said:


> But make no mistake, you won't hear that anywhere in the US, Canada, *Sweden* (I'm assuming)


FYI, in Sweden you DO hear that (in Swedish of course) and make that funny little gesture with your fingers that some people seem to find so annoying... maybe a continental thing? Saludos,


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## Maddi

Thanks a lot to everybody.


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## rich7

Al refrerinos a un supuesto hecho en español utilizamos la frase "entre comillas" para indicar que existen dudas sobre algo. ejemplo:

La gran ayuda humanitaria "  " de los EEUU en Irak.

Normalmente hablando sólo gestualizamos con los dedos para representar las comillas y así las dudas existente.

¿Tienen  idea si los angloparlantes hacen algo similar????


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## narhei

Sí, de hecho creo que es incluso más frecuente hacerlo en la costumbre anglosajona.


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## littlegringa

Sí, y decimos, "quote unquote."


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## parhuzam

Hola,

Like we would also say  "ditto" .... It means we do the same.... 

Repito lo que dice  rich7  "Normalmente hablando sólo gestualizamos con los dedos para representar las comillas y así las dudas existente."

En gesto... sí... pero nunca lo he visto escrito.

Spoken as little gringa says... written??


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## littlegringa

parhuzam, are you asking if we also write "quote unquote?" 

We might, in an informal context. "The _quote unquote _great humanitarian effort..." Here's a little article about it that I just found. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jlawler/aue/quote.html

We would also write, "the _so-called_ great humanitarian effort..." in a more formal setting to convey our doubt or even sarcasm.


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## parhuzam

Hola,
I misunderstood from his original example of using ... La gran ayuda humanitaria_* " " *_de los EEUU en Irak.
The quotations marks have to encompass the selected word. I thought he was asking about leaving them floating.

RE:"we also write "quote unquote?" If one would have to resort to writing them out, I think that would be a mark of a limited vocabulary...there are so many words to say questionable..... I wouldn't suggest to people learning English that it would be correct to write it.
I prefer to promote your example " so-called  " instead.

Thank you for the address ...

Saludos.


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## rich7

Thank you very much for the link.


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