how to quote in spanish essay

How to Use Angular Quotation Marks in Spanish

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Spanish sometimes uses angular quotation marks ("«" and "»") — often known as chevrons or guillemets or " comillas franceses " and " comillas angulares " in Spanish — interchangeably with and in the same way as regular double quotation marks.

In general, they are used much more in Spain than in Latin America, possibly because guillemets are commonly used in various non-English European languages such as ​​French.

In all Spanish, however, quote marks of either the angular or regular variety are used much as they are in English, most often to quote from someone's speech or writing or to call attention to words that are given a special or ironic use.

The Difference in Punctuation

The main difference between Spanish usage and that of American English is that added commas and periods in Spanish go outside the quotation marks, while in American English they go inside the quotation marks. A pair of examples show how these marks are used:

• "No extraordinary mind is free of a touch of insanity," Aristotle said.
• I have one "daughter." She has four legs and meows.

If you have a quotation within the words that are enclosed by angular quote marks, use the standard double quotation marks: «Él me dijo, "Estoy muy feliz"» . "He told me, 'I am very happy.'"

Long (Em) Dashes and Paragraph Spacing

Keep in mind that it is common when printing dialogue in Spanish to dispense with quote marks entirely and use a long dash ("—"), sometimes known as an em dash or "raya " in Spanish, to indicate the beginning and end of the quotation or a change in speaker.

It isn't necessary — although it's often done — to start a new paragraph for a change of speaker, as is usually done in English. No dash is needed at the end of a quotation if it is at the end of a paragraph. Different usages are illustrated in the following three example pairs:

• "Careful!" he shouted.
• "How are you?"
• "Excellent, thank you."
• "If you want to have friends," my mother told me, "be a friend."

In each of these cases, Spanish grammar dictates that the punctuation still belongs outside of the quotation signifier, except in the case that the sentence begins with a punctuation mark such as "¡Cuidado!" or "¿Cómo estás?"

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Quoting and Translating

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This resource provides information on strategies that the students can use when incorporating languages other than English in their academic texts.

Foreign Words and Phrases in an English Texts

In your research, you might find that certain key concepts important to your work do not have a direct English equivalent. In this case, keep the term in the foreign language and italicize it:

After introducing the key term, you can explain to your audience the meaning of the term and how it might compare and contrast with similar terms they know. Using the word without explanation (e.g. anguish instead of toska ) can be seen as misrepresenting the key term, because it does not invoke the other layers of meaning.

Popular Foreign Words

There are a number of commonly used foreign words, abbreviations and phrases that are part of American English: ad hoc, cliché, concerto, genre, sic, versus. Such popular words can be found in a dictionary and are considered a part of the English language. There is no need to translate them, unless they are used by the author in an innovative and unusual ways. In such case, you can provide more context for them.

Quotations Entirely in a Non-English Language

If you are quoting a whole sentence, you do not have to italicize the non-English words.

Keeping the whole sentence untranslated is a strategy that you could use when you are expecting your readers to know the language to some degree, or if you decide that the readers would benefit from reading and appreciating the original text. This is also the case, when the sentence might not be recognizable as an English translation, but is very well known in the original version.

Some texts that you are using might already contain specific formatting in a non-English language. In the example below, part of the quotation was written in italics. Preserve that original formatting in your quotation.

In this quotation, Anzaldúa provides a direct translation of the saying she heard as a child. Note that the saying she heard in Spanish is kept in original (just as she heard it and as she wrote it – in italics ). She also provided a translation of the saying to make it understandable for the readers who might not understand it otherwise.

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Spanish Essay Phrases: 40 Useful Phrases for an Impressive Writeup

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May 30, 2019

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Do you need to write a lot of essays in Spanish? If you do, don’t worry. It's about to get a little bit easier for you because here in this article, we’ve listed many useful Spanish essay phrases that you can readily use in your essays.

Feel free to pepper your essays with the words and expressions from this list. It would certainly elevate your essays and impress your teachers. You're welcome!

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No time to read now? Then you might opt to get the list in PDF instead. If you sign up to the newsletter, you'll get the list of Spanish essay phrases in PDF format plus free audio files. 

Spanish Essay Phrases

Additional Resources

You can also check out the following resources:

84 Spanish Expressions for Agreeing and Disagreeing

Common Spanish Verbs

Expresiones útiles para escribir en español

Looking for more Spanish phrases? Check out this e-book with audio!

Try to use the essay phrases in Spanish that you learned in this lesson and write a few example sentences in the comments section!

About the author 

Janey is a fan of different languages and studied Spanish, German, Mandarin, and Japanese in college. She has now added French into the mix, though English will always be her first love. She loves reading anything (including product labels).

VERY VERY useful !! Gracias

Amazing! This will definitely help me in tomorrow’s spanish test 🙂

Sounds good

Thanks for the assistance, in learning Spanish.

Amazing article! Very helpful! Also, this website is great for Spanish Beginners.

It’s easy when you put it that way

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52 Spanish Essay Phrases for Your AP Exam and Beyond

In order to do well on the AP Spanish exam’s   free-response  section, you must be able to write a persuasive essay based on three Spanish-language sources.

You can conjugate any irregular verb , you’ve got conditionals down and your vocabulary is out of this world.

But can you form a coherent argument… in Spanish?

Here we’ve put together a list of 52 vocabulary words and essays phrases that will come in handy for making and supporting arguments in your AP Spanish essays, and in any other piece of Spanish writing !

Handy Essay Phrases for Writing a Strong Spanish AP Composition

Starting your essay, agreeing and disagreeing, stating an opinion, supporting an opinion, contrasting (or comparing), transitional phrases, changing topics, concluding your essay, how to prepare for the ap spanish essay, what are the details of the ap spanish essay, and one more thing….

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Para empezar – To begin with

Hoy en día – Nowadays…

Hoy en día, las personas están en Internet hasta ocho horas por día. (Nowadays, people are on the Internet up to eight hours per day.)

A manera de introducción – We can start by saying…

Como punto de partida – As a starting point

Al principio – At the beginning… 

En primer lugar  – To start… 

Empecemos por considerar – Let’s begin by considering…

Estoy de acuerdo/No estoy de acuerdo — I agree/I disagree

Estoy de acuerdo con lo que dice el autor. (I agree with what the author says.)

No estoy de acuerdo con la idea principal de la fuente número dos . (I disagree with the main idea of source number two.)

En mi opinión — In my opinion

En mi opinión, los jóvenes deberían comer más sano. (In my opinion, young people should eat healthier.)

La verdad es   — The truth is

La verdad es que todavía hay mucha desigualdad en los Estados Unidos . (The truth is there is still a lot of inequality in the United States.)

Es verdad  — It’s true

Es verdad que las redes sociales pueden ser peligrosas . (It’s true that social media can be dangerous.)

Es falso   —   It’s false

Hay gente que dice que las redes sociales son peligrosas, pero esto es falso . (There are people who say that social media is dangerous, but this is false.)

Me parece/No me parece   —   It seems to me/It doesn’t seem to me

Me parece bien que los niños asistan a colegios bilingües . (I think it’s a good idea that children attend bilingual schools.)

No me parece bien que los niños asistan a colegios bilingües . (I don’t think it’s a good idea that children attend bilingual schools.)

Remember that since me parece implies an opinion or emotion, you must conjugate the verb in the subjunctive tense.

(Yo) pienso que   —   I think that

Yo pienso que no hay nada más importante que la familia . (I think that there is nothing more important than family.)

(Yo) creo que  — I believe that

Yo creo que todos los adolescentes deberían aprender a tocar un instrumento . (I believe that all adolescents should learn to play an instrument.)

The following phrases all have the same structure: Es  + adjective +  que .

This structure is similar to the English “It’s [adjective] that…” and is great for expressing and supporting opinions in a strong and confident manner. Here are some phrases that are especially useful when making and defending claims in a persuasive essay:

Es evidente que   —   It’s evident that

Es claro que   —   It’s clear that

Es cierto que  —   It’s certain that

Es obvio que   — It’s obvious that

Es importante que  — It’s important that

Es necesario que   — It’s necessary that

Es probable que   —   It’s probable that

Es dudoso que  — It’s doubtful that

For some of these phrases, the verb following the word que must be conjugated in the indicative, while others require the subjunctive . A good rule of thumb is that when implying that something is certain, use the indicative. When expressing doubt or expressing some other emotion, use the subjunctive.

On this list, evidente, claro, cierto  and obvio use indicative verbs, and importante, necesario, probable  and dudoso use subjunctive verbs.

Es cierto que nuestro clima está cambiando . (It is certain that our climate is changing.)

Es importante que la gente sepa hablar más de un idioma . (It’s important that people know how to speak more than one language.)

These words will help you refer to your three sources, which contain information that will help you support your argument. This section also contains transition words to connect one part of your argument to the next.

Según   — According to  

Según el autor… (according to the author…)

La fuente  —   The source

Según la fuente numero 1… (According to source number one…)

El tema   —   The theme/topic

Esto es un tema muy importante. (This is a very important topic.)

Mostrar   —   To show

La fuente muestra la importancia de la diversidad. (The source shows the importance of diversity.)

Remember, mostrar is an o-ue stem-changing verb—pay attention to conjugation!

Demostrar   —   To demonstrate

La tabla demuestra que muchos jóvenes en España juegan al fútbol. (The table demonstrates that many youths in Spain play football.)

Demostrar is also an o-ue stem changing verb. Luckily for you, it follows the exact same conjugation rules as mostrar !

Indicar   —   To indicate

La tabla indica que hay muchas familias pobres en ese barrio. (The table indicates that there are many poor families in that neighborhood.)

Apoyar   —   To support

Estos datos apoyan la idea de que el clima está cambiando. (This data supports the idea that the climate is changing)

Sin duda   — Without a doubt

Sin duda, el cambio climático es el problema más grave que enfrenta nuestra planeta. (Without a doubt, climate change is the most serious problem that our planet faces.)

Por otra parte   — On the other hand

Es importante que la economía crezca, pero por otra parte, tenemos que cuidar el medio ambiente. (It’s important that the economy grows, but on the other hand, we have to care for the environment.)

Aunque   — Even though/Although

Aunque is followed by an indicative verb when the outcome is known, but a subjunctive verb when the outcome is speculative.

Aunque cuesta mucho dinero, tenemos que buscar una solución. (Even though it costs a lot of money, we have to search for a solution.)

Aunque cueste mucho dinero, tenemos que buscar una solución . (Even though it may cost a lot of money, we have to search for a solution.)

Al igual que  —   Just like

Al igual que en los años 40, hoy en día hay mucha gente que no quiere ayudar a los refugiados de guerra . (Just like in the 40s, today there are many people who don’t want to help war refugees.)

Tanto… como… — … as well as…

Fill in this phrase with two nouns to emphasize that you’re talking equally about two different things.

Tanto chicos como chicas deberían aprender a cocinar, limpiar, coser y cuidar a los bebés. (Boys as well as girls ought to learn how to cook, clean, sew and care for babies.)  

Sino   —   But rather

Remember that Spanish has two translations for the English word “but.” The word sino is like the English phrase “but rather,” used to introduce an alternative.

En comparación  —   In comparison

En comparación, la fuente número 2 indica que hay más obesidad en Estados Unidos que en España . (In comparison, source number 2 indicates that there is more obesity in the United States than in Spain.)

Leer no es una pérdida de tiempo, sino una manera de aprender y de conocer otras culturas . (Reading isn’t a waste of time, but rather a way to learn and understand other cultures.)

Además  — Additionally

This word is usually seen at the beginning of a sentence, and it’s useful for transitioning from one idea or argument to another.

Además, es evidente que la tecnología nos ayuda mucho. (Additionally, it’s evident that technology helps us a lot.)

Sin embargo   —   However

This is another good transition word. In your essay, you may want to present an alternate argument and then explain why you disagree with it. Sin embargo is very helpful for this.

Obviamente, estudiar es muy importante. Sin embargo, es necesario que los adolescentes tengan tiempo para jugar con sus amigos . (Obviously, studying is very important. However, it’s necessary that teenagers have time to play with their friends.)

Por lo cual   —   For this reason/That’s why/Which is why

This phrase is used in the middle of a sentence to connect ideas.

La Amazonía tiene un alto nivel de biodiversidad, por lo cual la conservación de esta región debe ser una prioridad.  (The Amazon has a high level of biodiversity, which is why the conservation of this region must be a priority.)

Sobre un tema relacionado — On a related topic

Sobre un tema relacionado con la inteligencia artificial, se están llevando a cabo investigaciones para mejorar la capacidad de aprendizaje de los algoritmos de machine learning.  (Regarding a topic related to artificial intelligence, research is being conducted to enhance the learning capacity of machine learning algorithms.)

Cuando se trata de –  When it comes to

Relacionado con esta idea — Related to this idea

Una idea similar es — A similar idea is

Una idea similar es utilizar la realidad virtual como herramienta educativa para mejorar la experiencia de aprendizaje de los estudiantes. (A similar idea is to use virtual reality as an educational tool to enhance the learning experience of students.)

Ahora estoy pasando a  — Now moving onto

In your final paragraph, you’ll want to provide a summary of your main argument and your main supporting points. You can use the following helpful phrases:

En conclusión   —   In conclusion

En resumen   —   In summary

En fin   —   Finally

En conclusión,/En resumen,/En fin, las tres fuentes muestran que la contaminación del aire es un problema muy grave para todo el mundo . (In summary, the three sources show that air pollution is a very serious problem for the whole world.)

After summarizing your essay, you’ll want to re-state your main argument in a succinct, strongly-worded sentence. Start with these phrases:

Por estas razones   —   For these reasons

Por eso  — That is why

Así que   —   Therefore

Entonces  — So

Por estas razones,/Por eso,/Así que/Entonces, afirmo que los adolescentes no deberían usar las redes sociales. (For these reasons, I affirm that teenagers should not use social media.)

In many ways, preparing for the free-response section is the same as preparing for the rest of the AP exam.

It involves studying grammar and vocabulary, and it also means immersing yourself in the Spanish language as much as possible. The more exposure you have to Spanish-language sources leading up to the exam day, the easier it’ll be for you to understand and analyze the three sources you encounter in the essay task.

There are also some targeted ways to practice for the free-response section.

• Do practice exams and read sample essays. The College Board  has posted the full AP exams from the last several years. Try to read the sources and write the essay in the allotted 55 minutes. When you’re done, go back and slowly revise your essay for errors in grammar, spelling and logic. After that, you can also check out the grading rubric provided by the College Board and several sample persuasive essays . Try to compare your essay against the rubric and the samples to see how you can improve your writing.
• Practice summarizing and analyzing Spanish-language sources. Remember all those great resources listed above? Well, it’s not enough to just read or listen to them. The whole point of the presentational essay is to measure your ability to summarize, synthesize and argue. So, after you read or listen to a Spanish-language source, take five minutes to summarize it—on paper. Identify the main argument, and then make a bulleted list of important points. Finally, write a few sentences summarizing your personal opinion.
• Learn targeted vocabulary for talking about opinions and arguments. Is there anything more frustrating than knowing exactly what you want to say, but not having the vocabulary to say it? This article lists many crucial vocabulary words for expressing and supporting opinions in persuasive essays. Using these words and phrases will make your writing flow more smoothly—and they’ll allow you to argue with more credibility and style.
• Use authentic content to immerse yourself so you get used to thinking in Spanish. A virtual immersion program like FluentU can help you get going with a bit more structure.

You can also find some great info on great news outlets , podcasts , YouTube channels  and blogs —all in Spanish. Even following some Spanish Twitter feeds or listening to Spanish music can be a great way to work a little language practice into your day.

The free-response section of the exam is meant to test your ability to communicate with others in spoken and written Spanish.

There are two essays in the free-response section. The interpersonal essay asks you to respond to an email. The presentational essay  tests how well you can draw information from Spanish-language sources, form an argument and write formally. This second essay is a little less straightforward, so we’ll walk you through it here.

So, how does it work?

The presentational essay is based on three sources . Two of them are written sources and one is an audio source.

These sources can be just about anything: Advertisements, articles, infographics, letters, maps, interviews, radio programs, podcasts and conversations are just some examples of the types of sources you may encounter.

You’ll have about 55 minutes to complete this particular essay. First, you’ll have six minutes to read the prompt and the two written sources, and then you’ll hear the audio source twice. Finally, you’ll have 40 minutes to plan and write your essay.

The essay is graded on the basis of Spanish language skills like reading, listening, writing and grammar—but it’s also based on your general ability to analyze the sources and make a strong, coherent argument.

Learn and study the words listed above—they’ll help you express yourself more fluidly in your AP Spanish essays.

But, of course, learning vocabulary and essay phrases is just one way to prepare for the free-response section.

Remember to expose yourself to as many Spanish-language sources as you can before test day, and don’t forget to think critically about those sources as you read them!

With practice, writing strong essays for the AP Spanish exam will be a breeze.

If you've made it this far that means you probably enjoy learning Spanish with engaging material and will then love FluentU .

Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You’ll learn Spanish as it’s actually spoken by real people.

FluentU has a wide variety of videos, as you can see here:

FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list.

Review a complete interactive transcript under the Dialogue tab, and find words and phrases listed under Vocab .

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU’s robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.

The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It'll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re learning with the same video.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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The Complete Guide To Spanish Punctuation

Understanding Spanish punctuation is a key part of learning Spanish reading and writing. While most Spanish punctuation marks will be familiar to you, some of them are used slightly differently or have different meanings.

Knowing how to use Spanish punctuation marks correctly will make your written Spanish more accurate and improve your chances of success in a Spanish-language job or academic environment.

It will also help you improve your reading comprehension and interpret Spanish texts more accurately – from newspapers to novels.

In this post, you'll discover some of the most common Spanish punctuation marks and how to use them. You'll also look at their names in Spanish, so that you can identify them when you hear people talk about them in conversation.

By the way, if you want to learn Spanish fast and have fun, my top recommendation for language learners is my Uncovered courses, which teach you through StoryLearning®.  Click here  to find out about my beginner course, Spanish Uncovered and try out the method for free.

22 Punctuation Marks And Symbols In Spanish

To start, here's a handy list of Spanish punctuation marks. In the next section, you'll discover how to use them.

How To Use Punctuation Marks In Spanish

Punto (Period/Full Stop)

The period or full stop is one of the most common punctuation marks in any language. Just like in English, it’s used to mark the end of a sentence in written Spanish. However, Spanish has three different types of periods depending on where it’s used in the sentence:

• When the paragraph continues you use punto y seguido
• Punto y aparte is used for ending a paragraph
• You use punto final for ending an entire document

These periods all look the same, so you don’t really need to be on the lookout for them; it’s only really important if you’re discussing the text academically.

The punto can be used in other contexts too. As in English, it’s used in urls and email addresses: instead of “dot com,” .com is read as punto com .

The period is also used for abbreviations, such as:

• Sr. ( Señor)
• c.c. ( centímetros cúbicos )
• EE. UU. ( Estados Unidos)

You can also use a period when referring to the time. This is more common than using a colon, as we do English. For example, 1 o’clock is 1.00 instead of 1:00.

Finally, the period is used to write numerals . Unlike in English, though, the period and comma are reversed. Periods are used to separate thousands, while a comma is used to separate decimals. For example, a large sum might look like this:

Keep in mind that if you encounter numerals in the U.S. or Mexico , they’ll typically follow U.S. conventions, so they would be written like this:

We won’t spend any time here on the colon ( dos puntos ), semicolon ( punto y coma) , or ellipsis ( punto suspensivos) because they’re used just as they are in English.

Next, let's look at the coma (comma).

Coma (Comma)

The coma, or comma, is another punctuation mark that’s used a lot like it is in written English. We’ve already seen one use for it (as a decimal marker), but it’s also used in written text to separate different parts of a sentence.

For example:

One difference that you may notice is that Spanish doesn’t use the Oxford comma. Or a comma after the second-to-last item in a list. In English, the use of the Oxford comma varies from country to country. But in Spanish, it’s avoided entirely.

This means that if you’re listing three or more items, you don’t include a comma before the word “ y ” or “and,” even if you would ordinarily use it in English.

Next you'll discover one of the punctuation marks that differs most from English.

Signos De Interrogación Y Exclamación (Question Marks And Exclamation Points)

The use of question marks and exclamation points is one of the most visible differences between English and Spanish punctuation marks.

Those upside-down questions marks are hard to miss when reading written Spanish. But you can struggle to find them on a keyboard when trying to type in Spanish!

These punctuation marks serve the same purpose in Spanish – to ask a question or to show excitement – but you must use them before and after the phrase.

Omitting the inverted question mark at the beginning may happen in some contexts, such as a text message or social media post, but it looks unprofessional in formal writing.

It’s important to note that in some cases, only part of the sentence needs to be included within the question marks or exclamation points. For example, if the name of the person who’s being addressed comes at the beginning of the sentence, it isn’t included:

But everything that comes after the first question mark or exclamation point is included:

You’ll notice that the first word of the question or exclamation isn’t capitalised, unless it’s at the beginning of the sentence or happens to be a proper noun or name.

For an explanation (in Spanish) of how to use Spanish question and exclamation marks, hit play on the video below from the StoryLearning Spanish YouTube channel.

Multiple Spanish Punctuation Marks

You can also use question marks and exclamation points together, which isn’t common in formal English, as well as multiple exclamation points to increase the emphasis:

As you can see, either the question mark or exclamation point can be used first, or they can be combined in either order.

Comillas (Quotation Marks)

Comillas, or quotation marks, come in several different forms in Spanish. Firstly, there’s the angled quotation mark (« »), or comilla española, which you'll find in European Spanish and other Romance languages like French.

Secondly, there’s the English quotation mark (“ “), or comillas inglesas , and also the single quotation mark, comilla simple , which in English also serves as an apostrophe. But these quotation marks are more commonly used in Latin American Spanish.

You can use quotation marks just as you would in English: to identify a quotation or dialogue, or to write the title of a book or movie:

While comillas are mostly used the same way in both languages, you might notice a few differences in how other punctuation marks are applied.

For example, in Spanish, you’ll need to use a punto after the quotation mark, even if it already includes another mark, like a question mark or exclamation point, that would be sufficient in English.

Also, English allows for some marks, like the comma, to fall within the quotation marks even if it isn’t part of the title of a book or movie; Spanish does not.

Because of the above rules you’ll occasionally end up with more punctuation marks in a row than would be natural in English.

Other Spanish Punctuation Marks And Symbols

So far, you've seen most of the major Spanish punctuation marks that you need to know in order to read and write in Spanish . But there are a few other symbols you may encounter, such as accent marks and numerical symbols.

Accent marks in Spanish are called tildes , although in English, we use the term tilde to refer only to a single diacritical mark, the (~) that goes over the letter n .

In Spanish, this isn’t actually treated as an accent mark, because the n and ñ are distinct letters of the Spanish alphabet! Instead, the (~) is referred to as virgulilla .

You can learn more about how and when to use Spanish accent marks in the video below.

When it comes to numerical symbols, (%) is referred to as por ciento , while (+) and (-) are más and menos .

It’s a good idea to be familiar with the names of these symbols, because they may come up when speaking aloud in Spanish. For example, a phone number with an area code (+57) would be pronounced as más cinco siete .

Likewise, some common Internet symbols have different names in Spanish. The at sign (@) is called arroba , while the backslash is barra invertida (although may be referred to as “slash” even in spoken Spanish). Guion bajo refers to an underscore.

If you listen to Spanish podcasts , you may hear the host invite you to email them at an address like “ info guion bajo 2021 arroba podcast punto com”, which means:

[email protected]

How To Type Spanish Punctuation Marks On Your Keyboard

Learning Spanish punctuation marks is fairly easy. But typing in Spanish on your keyboard is a different story. Depending on your operating system, you can use keyboard shortcuts to access Spanish punctuation marks, such as the ¡ and ¿.

On a Mac, you can use the Option key for some of them. Opt + 1 gives you an inverted exclamation point, while Opt + Shift + ? gets you an inverted question mark.

However, other devices have different keyboard shortcuts, so we won’t go into them all here.

Spanish Punctuation: Wrapping It Up

Just remember that punctuation marks are an integral part of Spanish, and leaving them out isn’t an option.

Take the time to learn them and use them properly, and you’ll be able to express yourself more accurately in Spanish and read it aloud more fluently!

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Punctuation Marks, Special Characters, and Other Symbols in Spanish

Have you ever come across weird symbols in Spanish? Perhaps you don’t know what they mean or how to write them?

Well, you’re not alone. Pretty much every Spanish student has gone through the same situation during their learning process. Part of learning Spanish is discovering these special characters and finding out how to use them. 

Today, we’ll discuss why you need to learn the Spanish punctuation rules; discover the most commonly used punctuation marks in Spanish; find out how to type the Spanish special characters; and see what other symbols in Spanish exist. 

Why Learn to Use Punctuation Marks and Other Symbols in Spanish?

Although some “international” punctuation marks and special characters are used and recognized in different languages, every language has its own punctuation rules and unique symbols. Learning them is a crucial part of your language acquisition process, as they are vital to developing your writing skills in the new language. 

These unique punctuation marks and other symbols in Spanish generally work in similar ways to how they behave in English, which make it easier to understand their use. Some slight variations and different special characters are the main issues to focus on, and that’s what we’ll do in the following sections. 

How to Use Punctuation Marks in Spanish

The correct use of punctuation marks and other symbols in Spanish is a sign of advanced writing and reading skills. These special characters tell you when to pause, how to adapt the tone of your voice, and other important information. 

A hidden benefit of learning punctuation rules in Spanish is that by mastering them, you’ll start thinking more about the structure of your sentences and the parts of speech you’ll use with them. In other words, you’ll become more “grammar conscious,” and your Spanish will improve as a result. 

Punto – Period 

The “period” is one of the symbols in Spanish that works just like in English, only it’s called by slightly different names. 

To explain the three types of periods in Spanish, we’ll use the following passage:

El español es un idioma popular. No solo se habla en Latinoamérica, sino también en muchas partes de Estados Unidos. (punto y aparte after “Estados Unidos”)

Sin embargo, es importante recordar que existen diferentes maneras de hablar el español.  

Spanish is a popular language. It’s not only spoken in Latin America, but also in many parts of the United States. 

However, it’s important to remember that there are different ways to speak Spanish. 

1. Punto y seguido

Translated literally, this means “period and continue.” It’s the one you use when you continue writing in the same paragraph after the period. Every time you see a period in the middle of a paragraph, it’s a punto y seguido . 

For example, there is a punto y seguido after the word popular at the end of the first sentence in the passage.

2. Punto y aparte

The “period and aside” is the period you use to end a paragraph. After using this period, you have to start a new idea in a new paragraph. 

A punto y aparte comes after Estados Unidos in the passage.

3. Punto y final

The “final period” is the period you use to end a chapter, article, or letter. You use punto y final when you have finished writing. 

In the passage, the punto final comes at the end, after the word español.

In all cases, the Spanish punto plays the same role as the English period. It simply tells the reader to make a long pause. 

Coma – Comma

The comma indicates a brief pause to be made within a sentence. Its use in Spanish has three key differences to how it’s used in English. 

1. In Spanish, we don’t use the Oxford Comma . This means that when you’re listing a series of things, you don’t write a comma before the word y (“and”).

Compré pan, leche y tortillas. 

I bought bread, milk, and tortillas. 

2. When you use quotation marks in English, and need to add a comma after them, you add the comma before the last quotation mark. In Spanish, you add it after the last quotation mark. 

“Te amo”, le dijo con una sonrisa en la cara. 

“I love you,” he said with a smile on his face. 

3. In Spain, people use the periods and commas in numbers in the opposite way as in Latin American and the United States. They use periods for numbers in the thousands and millions and a comma as a decimal point. 

1.987.654,32 (Spain and Europe)

1,987,654.32 (Latin America and U.S.)

Punto y Coma – Semicolon

The semicolon is formed by a period and a comma, hence its name in Spanish. It indicates a longer pause than a comma, but a shorter one than a period. It’s mostly used to separate different ideas within a single sentence, in complex lists, and before conjunctions and transition words. 

En la reunión se discutirán los avances en el programa de pagos automáticos; las nuevas ideas de producto; los ganadores del premio de puntualidad y las propuestas para la cena de Navidad.  

At the meeting, we’ll discuss the automatic payments program advances; the new product ideas; the winners of the attendance; and punctuality prize and the proposals for the Christmas party.

Dos Puntos – Colon

Just as in English, los dos puntos are used to indicate that an explanation, a list, a numeration, or a quote is coming next. Also, use a colon after the initial greeting in a business letter or email. 

Los signos de puntuación son los siguientes: el punto, la coma, el punto y coma, etc.

The punctuation marks are as follows : period, comma, semicolon, etc. 

Estimados padres de familia: 

Dear Parents: 

Puntos Suspensivos – Ellipsis

This is one of the symbols in Spanish that works exactly the same as in English. We use puntos suspensivos to express suspense, create expectation, or indicate hesitation. You can also use it to indicate an omission or represent a trailing off of thought. 

Si tan solo… bueno, ya no importa. 

If only… well, it doesn’t matter anymore. 

Signos de Interrogación – Question Mark

You use the question mark in Spanish in exactly the same situations as in English, with the only difference being that in Spanish you need to add a signo de interrogación at the beginning of the question. This symbol doesn’t exist in English, but it’s basically an upside down question mark. 

¿ Cómo te llamas ?

What’s your name?

¿ De dónde eres ?

Where are you from?

Signos de Exclamación – Exclamation Point

Same thing with question marks. You need to add an upside down exclamation point to the start of the exclamation sentence.

¡ Me gané la lotería !

I won the lottery!

¡ Conseguí el trabajo !

I got the job!

Paréntesis – Parentheses

These symbols in Spanish also work exactly the same as in English. You use parentheses to clarify an idea aside from the main point, to add abbreviations or their meaning, and to add places and dates. 

La Organización de las Naciones Unidas ( ONU ) celebró su Asamblea General. 

The UN (United Nations) celebrated its General Assembly. 

Pablo Neruda ( 1904-1973 ) fue un gran poeta chileno. 

Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) was an outstanding Chilean poet.

Comillas – Quotation Marks

Use the quotation marks to reproduce textual quotes, to indicate that a word or expression is being used ironically or that it comes from another language, and to quote titles of movies, books, articles, etc. In Spanish, the punctuation mark goes outside the quotation marks, unlike in American English.

La llamada “ Oxford comma ” no se usa en español. 

The so-called Oxford comma is not used in Spanish. 

El presidente señaló que la economía está “ mejor que nunca ” .

The president said that the economy is “better than ever.”

Guion Largo o Raya – Em Dash

The raya is used to clarify something, in a similar way to parentheses. It can also be used to indicate each person’s speech in a dialogue. 

— Este libro es mío.—dijo María con calma. 

— Lo siento, no lo sabía.—respondió Carlos. 

“This is my book,” said María calmly. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” answered Carlos. 

Guion Corto – Hyphen

Shorter than the raya ( corto means “short”), this guion is used to unite words to form a complex term and to serve as a link between two numbers that form an interval. A good way to differentiate between both guiones is to remember that we use the raya to “separate” and the guion corto to “unite.”

Post-modernidad

Post-modernity

Mexico-americano

Mexican-American

How to Use Special Characters in Spanish

When learning about punctuation marks, special characters and other symbols in Spanish, you discover the challenge involved in typing them on an electronic device. 

At the beginning of the computer age, this was a real challenge. Nowadays, it’s still an issue but not as complicated as it used to be. If you want to be able to type anything in Spanish, I recommend reading this post .

Acentos – Accent Marks

The accent marks are the most common special characters and symbols in Spanish that you need to learn. We write them on top of vowels to mark where a word is stressed .

Number 

Diéresis – Umlaut

In Spanish, you only use the umlaut when you have a gue or gui syllable and you want to include the sound of the letter u . In other words, if you don’t add the umlaut, that u between the g and the e or i , would be silent. 

Biling ü e 

This letter doesn’t exist in English, but it’s important in Spanish. Its sound is similar to the “ny” sound of an English word such as “canyon.”  

Espa ñ ol 

How to Use Other Symbols in Spanish

Besides the special characters mentioned above, there are other symbols in Spanish that you need to master. These symbols are mostly related to money or the internet and are pretty much the same as in English. 

I’m talking about symbols such as $, €, #, @, *, and /. In all these cases, their use in Spanish is exactly the same as in English, although the way to type them can vary depending on your keyboard settings . 

¿ Qui é n Hablar á con el Ni ñ o Biling ü e?

Who will talk with the bilingual boy? That question may not make a lot of sense to you, but please notice how many of the new punctuation marks, special characters, and other symbols in Spanish it includes. 

You learned all of them just by reading this single blog post. Imagine what you could do, if you were to engage in real life conversations with native Spanish speaker teachers. Learn to write and speak like a pro by signing up for a free class !

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• UConn Library
• Spanish Studies Subject Guide
• Citing Using MLA

Spanish Studies Subject Guide — Citing Using MLA

• Thinking about Topics
• Exploring Broad Topics in Spanish Studies
• Narrowing Topics in Spanish Studies
• Forming a Research Question
• Finding Primary Sources
• Finding Secondary Sources
• Finding Open Access Sources
• Finding Audiovisual Materials
• Finding Current News
• Finding Materials on Microform
• Citing Sources
• Finding Additional Resources

Updated Page Available

Mla and citing references in spanish.

See below a list of resources for citing using MLA:

• MLA Citations in Spanish A nice guide with examples of how to cite your Spanish language references in MLA.

MLA Handbook (8th Edition)

MLA Handbook Guides

• UConn MLA Handbook Style Guide 8th Edition An overview of the 8th edition of MLA style. Very good for answering common questions about using MLA style.
• UConn MLA Handbook Style Guide 7th Edition An overview of the 7th edition of MLA style. Very good for answering common questions about using MLA style.
• Purdue OWL MLA Guide A very comprehensive guide to using MLA style.

Stable Links

Important Note on the Use of URLs in MLA (from the OWL Purdue MLA page )

"Include a URL or web address to help readers locate your sources. Because web addresses are not static (i.e., they change often) and because documents sometimes appear in multiple places on the web (e.g., on multiple databases), MLA encourages the use of citing containers such as Youtube, JSTOR, Spotify, or Netflix in order to easily access and verify sources. However, MLA only requires the www. address, so eliminate all https:// when citing URLs. "

"Many scholarly journal articles found in databases include a DOI (digital object identifier). If a DOI is available , cite the DOI number instead of the URL."

Your completed citation should look something like this:

Rivera Villegas, Carmen M. "La loca de la casa" de Marta Aponte Alsina: Reinvenciones romanticas de un canon fundacional.” Confluencia: Revista Hispanica de Cultura y Literatura , vol. 23, no. 1, 2007, p. 62, www.jstor.org/stable/27923253. Accessed 20 May 2009.

Rivera Villegas, Carmen M. "La loca de la casa" de Marta Aponte Alsina: Reinvenciones romanticas de un canon fundacional.” Confluencia: Revista Hispanica de Cultura y Literatura , vol. 23, no. 1, 2007, p. 62, JSTOR , doi:10.1353/mfs.1997.0056.

• Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024 3:43 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uconn.edu/Spanish

Oftentimes, clients will have questions as to the style choices that language professionals make. Perhaps the target document may not appear the way they see it in English, or perhaps it does not coincide with other documents they have seen written in the target language. In order to alleviate some of the stress in this process, this style guide was created to help English speaking translation clients understand some of the key differences in the visible appearance of Spanish. Translators could create similar guides for their respective languages as general guidance for their clients.

Capitalization

In Spanish, for titles of stories, creative works, and articles written in magazines or newspapers, slogans, etc. sentence case and italics are used:

• Cien años de soledad
• Las señoritas de Avignon (Avignon is capitalized because it is a place)
• West side story (note that Spanish rules apply to an English text quoted in a Spanish document).

The rules are more similar to the English ones for titles of weekly publications, presentations and exhibitions, laws and official documents. Spanish capitalizes all words with lexical content, as well as italicizing the name of the publication to show where the title starts and ends:

Weekly publications

• El Comercio

Laws and official documents

• el Código Civil
• la Ley 40/1998, de 9 de diciembre, de Impuestro sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas y otras Normas Tributarias
• la Convención de Ginebra

Names of historical eras, events and festivities

• el Precámbrico
• la Contrarreforma
• Navidad, Año Nuevo, Día Internacional de la Mujer

Punctuation

Semicolon: separates phrases of equal weight that are all affected by the same verb. Spanish sentences are often quite long, and phrases within them are separated by semicolons.

Comma: separates words of equal weight within the phrase.

Colon: no capital letter after a colon. Caps only go at the start of a sentence, the start of a book title, or the start of a proper name.

Traiga lo siguiente a la escuela: compás, transportador, lápiz, papel.

In this case no caps follow the colon since it is only a list of items to take to school.

However, note the following exceptions:

Cómo hacer puré: Hierva las papas, etc.

In the above case, using a capital letter after the colon is OK because a small sentence truly starts after the colon.

Muy señor mío: Le agradeceré…

After the colon that follows the greeting in a letter.

CERTIFICA: Que D. José Álvarez García ha seguido el Curso de Técnicas Audiovisuales…

After the colon that follows the main verb of an administrative legal document.

Pedro dijo: «No volveré hasta las nueve».

After the colon that introduces a citation or quotation.

Bulleted lists: treat the punctuation as if the items followed each other within a paragraph. In other words, each new item does NOT get a capital letter because it is on a new line. To make this point obvious, I used the same list as in the sentence above. In English, items in bulleted sentences are separated by semicolons, and in Spanish we can use commas.

Traiga lo siguiente a la escuela:

• transportador,

(Note that this list has commas, no capital letters, and ends in a period: it is a sentence graphically broken down into bullets to itemize the elements of the list.)

Simple quotes enclose meanings.

Quotation marks:

The period always goes outside of the quotation marks.

Me dijo: “Es una tontería”.

Long parenthetical comments should be replaced by footnotes.

Numbered lists should always have Arabic numerals followed by a closing parenthesis, as shown below. Lowercase Roman numerals are not used, nor is the (1) format. Even inside a paragraph, these rules are followed.

A long dash can be used to enclose explanations –. In these cases, the long dash needs to be on both sides of what it encloses, even if the end is just before the period at the end of the sentence or the paragraph. In this case, it is “kissing” the enclosed comment and “keeping its distance” from the rest of the sentence with a space. However, such use is somewhat rare, and often writers use commas or parentheses instead.

• La editorial ha publicado este año varias obras del autor –todas ellas de su primera época–.
• Para él la fidelidad –cualidad que valoraba por encima de cualquier otra– era algo sagrado.

(Examples taken from Ortografía de la lengua española , published by Real Academia Española, p. 374)

“Siglas” (Acronyms) don’t take periods (OTAN; ONU, EUA)

Acronyms are not pluralized in Spanish (“los CD”, not “los CDs”)

Translators should not create new acronyms, but use the official ones in Spanish (for example ONU for UN, SIDA for AIDS, etc.). If no official Spanish acronym exists, translators should use the acronym of the source text, spelling it out the first time, followed by (ABC, por sus siglas en inglés) or (ABC, American Broadcasting Company) and using it sparingly after that. Either format can be used as long as it is consistent. Note that in some cases, acronyms have been used as words often enough that they are commonly found in lowercase format, such as “sida”, and in some cases only the first word is capitalized, as in Renfe. Readers should not have to go to the previous page to find the definition of the acronym. If it is used once per page, it should be spelled out or the name should be abbreviated using words, not the acronym.

tú (informal you) vs usted (formal you): In Spanish business communications (from memos to manuals) should always be in the “usted” form unless the client insists. Of course, when addressing young people, the “tú” form is appropriate.

Business letters signed with only a first name are not culturally acceptable in Spanish. When an English document is signed by “Joe”, the Spanish should also give Joe’s last name and say “Joe Brown, President”.

Unit conversions: square feet, inches, pounds, etc., are not used in the Spanish speaking world. However, the units in the document should be those commonly used in the target country. The requester should specify whether unit conversions should be made. Any unit conversions should be done carefully, verifying the accuracy of the conversion. In technical documents, however, units of measurement should not be converted to avoid confusion. One acceptable alternative is putting the conversion between parentheses, as follows: 450 sq. ft (45 m 2 ). In any event, the unit should always be stated immediately after the number because significant mistakes have been made in the science field because of lack of attention to unit conversion.

Gender neutrality: In Spanish, the masculine singular is the neutral case. Filling the text with “él o ella” makes for cumbersome reading. As a matter of fact, when referring to a group of men and women as “them”, the Spanish is “ellos” (masculine plural).

Sex (male/female) refers to people, but nouns in Spanish have gender (the table is “la mesa”, a glass of water is “el vaso”, the president could be “el presidente” or “la presidente”, etc.). The fact that a noun ends in the letter “a” does not necessarily mean that the article should be “la”: “el pianista” could refer to a male pianist, for example, and “el mapa” is “the map.”

Conversations: In Spanish, conversations are punctuated by a dash, not by quotation marks. Please note that in English we assume that the speaker continues to speak if there are no ending quotation marks. In Spanish, we assume the speaker changes from one dash to the next. If there is any ambiguity or change from this norm, the author will clarify it.

–¿Cómo estás? –dijo José–. [Note: no space between dash and spoken text, no space between dash and explanatory text]

–Muy bien, –dijo María– pero siéntate, por favor.

–¿Qué te trae por aquí? [José is assumed to be speaking.]

–Vengo a devolver un libro. [María is assumed to be speaking.]

–Bueno, me alegro de haberte visto acá en la biblioteca. Hasta la próxima.

–Nos vemos.

Numbers: N.° 1, or Núm. 1 are correct, but #1 is not Spanish.

Units of measurement don’t take caps or periods (10 km, 5 cm, etc.)

MPH is OK because it is an English only unit. However, KPH doesn’t exist. It would be km/h

Prefixes are not independent units;therefore, they are used in three ways:

• attached to the word they precede: antiadherente, cuasidelito, exalcohólico, expresidente;
• with a dash separating the prefix from the main word only when the root word is capitalized (e.g. pre-Obama) or it is a number; and,
• separated only when they modify more than one word: ex relaciones públicas, anti pena de muerte, pro derechos humanos, vice primer ministro, super en forma.

Periods and commas in numbers:

Half of Latin American countries use commas for thousands and periods for decimals, and the other half go the other way. The European Union is going with hard spaces. Any of these choices is acceptable as long as consistency is maintained through the document. However, when the document is written with a single target country in mind, the translator should make an effort to be consistent with the usage in that country.

Abbreviations should be easy to understand with no previous knowledge. They take accents, periods, and can be pluralized.

Days, months, seasons, job titles, languages, tribes, religions are not capitalized. The General Manager is “el gerente general”. If the title is at the start of the line, only capitalize the first word (Gerente general de Operaciones). However, names of departments do take more than one capital letter (e.g. Recursos Humanos, Operaciones y Mantenimiento). NEVER capitalize articles or prepositions, though!

Use italics for

• names of titles of books, articles, etc.,
• foreign words
• invented words
• scientific names

Bold type: avoid it as much as possible, as overuse makes reading difficult. However, bold type can be used to emphasize a word within a sentence, since capital letters and italics are not used for emphasis in Spanish.

To give multiple options, señores(as) is widely used in Mexico, but señores/as is used in other places (Spain and Argentina, at least).

DO NOT USE ALL CAPS . There are other ways to denote emphasis. A text in allcaps is visually convoluted and hard to read. Capitalization for emphasis is not used in Spanish texts.

Paragraphs should have a left indent, except for the first paragraph. This applies to writing an article, a letter, or something of that type. When working on a PowerPoint, the rules change for the sake of space. Depending on the type of text, it may be important to maintain the same style as the source.

Names of institutions, laws, medications, etc.: Use the Spanish names when translating to English, and when the English source text is using material that has been translated from Spanish, use the original terminology from the source country. However, when translating the name of a law from English to Spanish and the name of the law is not commonly known in Spanish, give the name of the law in English in italics followed by a translation of its meaning in Spanish between parenthesis. Users will be searching for it by the English name, not the Spanish name, in any event.

The official Spanish names of many US government institutions can be found on  USAGov’s website .

Translation from English to Spanish does not require keeping the same tense. The following are just a few examples.

• Spanish uses the subjunctive much more frequently than English does.
• Spanish uses tacit subjects unless the subject must be specified to avoid ambiguity.
• The English passive voice is often replaced by the impersonal se hace or by the active voice.

Keeping English terms in the Spanish text:

This practice can lead to clumsy Spanish writing and confusion. When technical terms must be kept in English because they will be on the computer screen in English, the translator should receive a list of the terms the user will see on the screen to be able to avoid leaving unnecessary terms untranslated. In any event, all English terms should be followed by a Spanish translation in parenthesis and the English term should be in italics, as follows:

Haga click en la pestaña Design (diseño).

This practice allows the reader to follow the text as a Spanish paragraph with no loss of meaning or fluency.

Redundancy:

In Spanish we avoid redundancy. If the concept is repeated too many times throughout a text, the English would use the exact same term throughout, whereas the Spanish would use two or three variations of the term so as not to sound so repetitive. Especially in legal documents or instructions, when the English is very repetitive, it will seem like the Spanish is missing a sentence, and it may actually be missing a sentence, but it is deliberate when the meaning of the sentence is included in previous content. This also happens with legal doublets (e.g. “terms and conditions”, “cease and desist”).

Source materials: Many ideas came from Xosé Castro, presentation to AATIA in September 2010 Discussions with Gabriela Penrod Ortografía de la lengua española , Real Academia Española, 2010 El buen uso del español, Real Academia Española, 2013

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65 spanish phrases to use in an essay.

If Spanish is not your first language, memorizing specific phrases can help you improve your essay-writing skills and make you sound more like a native speaker. Thus below, you will find a list of useful phrases categorized by groups to help you appear more proficient and take your essays to the next level!

Introductory Phrases

Based on my vast experience as a freelance writer , I can say that starting an essay is undoubtedly the most challenging part of essay writing. Nonetheless, many phrases have proven to help organize my thoughts and form cohesive and intriguing introductions, such as:

• “Para empezar” – To begin with

• “Al principio” – At the beginning… 

• “En primer lugar” – To start… 

• “Empecemos por considerar” – Let’s begin by considering/acknowledging 

• “A manera de introducción” – We can start by saying…

• “Como punto de partida “ – As a starting point

• “Hoy en día” – Nowadays… Notice that these introductory phrases are not exactly the same than those you would use in a conversation. For that, I suggest reading my article about Sentence Starters in Spanish .

You can also use phrase to introduce a new topic in the text such as:

• En lo que se refiere a – Regarding to
• Respecto a – Regarding to
• En cuanto a – Regarding to
• Cuando se trata de – When it comes to
• Si pasamos a hablar de – If we go ahead to talk about

Concluding Phrases

It is also crucial that you know how to finish your essay. A good conclusion will allow you to tie all your ideas together and emphasize the key takeaways. Below, a few ways in which you can begin a concluding argument:

• “En conclusion” – In conclusion

• “En resumen/resumiendo…” – In summary

• “Como se puede ver…” – As you can see

• “Para concluir” – To conclude

• “Para finalizar” – To finish

• “Finalmente, podemos decir que…” – We can then say that…

• “ En consecuencia, podemos decir que…” – As a result, one can say that…

• “Por fin” – Finally

Transitional Phrases

Transitions phrases are crucial if you wish your essay to flow smoothly. Thus, I recommend you pay special attention to the following sentences:

• “Además” – Besides

• “Adicionalmente” – In addition…

• “Dado que…” – Given that…

• “Por lo tanto” – Therefore

• “Entonces” – Thus/So

• “Debido a…” – Hence

• “Mientras tanto” – Meanwhile

• “Por lo que” – This is why

• “Desde entonces” – Since then

Argumentative Phrases

When writing essays, it is very common for us to need to include argumentative phrases to get our message across. Hence, if you are looking for new ways to introduce an argument, below a few ideas:

• “Por otro lado…” – On the other hand…

• “En primera instancia…” – First of all 

• “A diferencia de…” – As oppossed to

• “De igual forma” – More so

• “Igualmente” – The same goes for… 

• “En otras palabras” – In other words

• “A pesar de que…” – Although 

• “Aunque” – Even though 

• “En contraste” – By contrast 

• “De hecho…” – In fact… 

• “Sin embargo” – Nevertheless

• “No obstante” – However

Opinion Phrases

There are many formal (and less formal ways) to express your opinions and beliefs in Spanish. Here, a few examples: 

• “Considero que…” – I considerthat…

• “Mi opinión es” – It is my opinion

• “Pienso que…” – I think that…

• “Opino que” – In my opinion…

• “Afortunadamente” – Fortunately

• “ Lamentablemente” – Unfortunately

• “Me parece que…” – It seems to me that…

• “En mi opinión” – I believe that…

• “En mi experiencia” – Based on my experience

• “Como yo lo veo…” – As I see it…

• “Es mi parecer” – My pointview 

General Phrases

Finally, I wanted to include a group of useful common phrases that can enrich your essay’s vocabulary:

•   “En realidad” – In reality

• “Actualmente” – Today/Nowadays 

• “De acuerdo a…” – According to… 

• “Por ejemplo” – For example

• “Cabe recalcar que…” – It is important to note that… 

• “Vale la pena resaltar que…” – It is important to highlight that… 

• “No podemos ignorar que…” – We can’t ignore that… 

• “Normalmente” – Usually/Normally 

• “Por lo general” – In general

• “Es normal que…” – It is normal to…

• “Otro hecho importante es…” – Another relevant factor is… 

• “Podría decirse que…” – One could say that… 

• “Para ilustrar” – To illustrate 

There you have it! A list of 60 useful phrases you can memorize to make your essays sound more professional and become more appealing to readers. However, if you are struggling and need further assistance with your essay, here you can see an Spanish essay example that can help you to structure and edit your work.

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Writing in spanish - Formatting Rules

Is there a reference article here on " formatting " rules in spanish? For writing fiction type texts?

I don't know how to search for it really as I don't know the proper name for it.

The only thing I have been able to do so far is to copy what they do in books I read.

It appears they indent new paragraphs.

It appears they don't use quotes for when people speak or think something. They use dashes and double greater than less than signs

Examples of what I am talking about:

In spanish they seem to use dashes instead of quotes, and no commas:

—¿Estás seguro de que lo has visto?—exclamó el Capitán

In english we'd use quotes , such as:

"You are sure of what you have seen?", exclaimed the captain.

Additionally it seems each dashed quote will be the start of a new paragraph.

Also, I see these often enough: « » with text inside. Example:

—Dijo: «Caballeros, lo que vamos a hacer no lo sabrá nunca Parrón....»

I always thought it was internal dialog, but now I don't think so as the above example is not internal dialog.

Sometimes the dashes are on each side of the quote, sometimes not like here:

Y en voz más baja, dirigiendo la palabra a un joven inglés de bigotes colorados, ojos azules y frente calva, le insinuó: --¿Cree usted que fuera feliz?

Sometimes it's one dash, sometimes two in a row, and sometimes three in a row: - — ---

Does anyone know these formatting rules, like when to use a dash, two dashes, a dash before the statement only, a dash surrounding a statement on both sides, when to start a new paragraph, etc... ??

I cannot make sense of when to use what where. :(

A friend has told me english quotes and those wierd spanish dashes are interchangeable in writing, however it's more common in books to see the dashes like this — It probably depends on the region of the writing as well.

Found these which give decent explanations of the quotes and dashes, or comillas y rayas:

In summary:

Three types of quotes exist in spanish, along with the dash or line (raya).

As a general rule, « » are used in Spain (mainly in books) and double quotes in Latin America (and in many newspapers in Spain) In printed texts, the order of appearance of the quotes should be as follows: «..."...'...'..."...» Also you can use the raya — such as listed in examples below: MARÍA.—Hola, ¿qué tal? JUAN.—Bien, ¿y tú? —Si quieres puedes venir —dijo sonriendo. —Bueno —dijo apoyándose en la puerta—, si no te molesta. —¡Claro que no! —La tomó de la mano y tiró de ella—. Tú nunca molestas.

For full details, check those two wiki links...

I would call this punctuation

I went to google and asked for 'writing guide' and one of the choices offers a Spanish translation. I don't know if that will help with how it is done in Spanish writing or if it is just a translation of the way it is done in English but here is a link. If you look on the left margin, you should the ref for Spanish. Good luck.

lklivingston.tripod.com/essay

You might also search under 'writing style'.

Ok, those articles don't seem correct comparing what I've read in actual books and how they punctuate sentences and dialog. Also, the articles don't really tell you when to use or how to use the spanish punctuation. As a matter of fact the articles say to use quotes like this "quoted text" and I've never ever seen this in a spanish fiction book. They always use — like —quoted text

I tried searching "spanish dialog punctuation" and others for better results, but it doesn't seem that any english articles explaining how to punctuate fictional dialog exist on this topic? Anyone have hints?

I googled "spanish punctuation rules" About.com has a brief discussion. There are more links to peruse.

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51 Spanish Phrases for Essays to Impress with Words

• January 7, 2021

Joanna Lupa

Communicating in a foreign language is hard enough, even in everyday situations, when no sophisticated or academic vocabulary is needed. 

Being able to write an actual essay in Spanish requires you not only to have a solid grammar base but also be knowledgeable about specific phrases and words typically used in school and university writing. 

For those of you who study in one of the Spanish speaking countries or are toying with the idea of signing up for an exchange program, I have prepared a summary of useful Spanish phrases for essays. They are divided into the following categories:

• Connectors (sequence, contrast, cause and effect, additional information, and conclusion)
• Expressions to give your opinion, agree and disagree with a thesis
• fancy academic expressions

Spanish Connectors to Use in Essays

Written language tends to be more formal than the spoken one. Ideas get explained in complex sentences showing how they relate to each other. A fantastic tool to achieve that is connectors.

What are some useful Spanish connectors for essays? Let’s have a look at the ten examples below:

• 🇪🇸 primero – 🇬🇧 first
• 🇪🇸 segundo – 🇬🇧 second
• 🇪🇸 el siguiente argumento – 🇬🇧 the next argument
• 🇪🇸 finalmente – 🇬🇧 finally, last but not least 
• 🇪🇸 sin embargo – 🇬🇧 however, nevertheless, nonetheless
• 🇪🇸 por lo tanto – 🇬🇧 therefore, thus
• 🇪🇸 además – 🇬🇧 besides
• 🇪🇸 por un lado….por el otro lado – 🇬🇧 on the one hand….on the other hand
• 🇪🇸 a menos que – 🇬🇧 unless
• 🇪🇸 a pesar de (algo) – 🇬🇧 despite / in spite of (something)
• 🇪🇸 aunque / a pesar de que – 🇬🇧 although / even though
• 🇪🇸 debido a – 🇬🇧 due to
• 🇪🇸 puesto que / dado que – 🇬🇧 given that
• 🇪🇸 ya que –  🇬🇧 since
• 🇪🇸 mientras que – 🇬🇧 whereas
• 🇪🇸 en conclusión – 🇬🇧 in conclusion
• 🇪🇸 para concluir – 🇬🇧 to conclude

Do you think you would know how to use these connectors in an essay? Let’s suppose you are writing about ecology:

🇪🇸 Los paises han estado cambiando sus politicas. Sin embargo, aún queda mucho por hacer.  🇬🇧 Countries have been changing their policies. However, there is still a lot to do. 

🇪🇸 Una de las amenazas climáticas es el efecto invernadero. Además está la contaminación del agua que presenta un serio riesgo para la salud.  🇬🇧 One of the climate threats is the greenhouse effect. Besides, there is water pollution that presents a severe health hazard. 

🇪🇸 A pesar de los acuerdos internacionales, varios países no han mejorado sus normas ambientales.  🇬🇧 Despite international agreements, many countries haven’t yet improved their environmental standards. 

🇪🇸 Debido a la restricción en el uso de bolsas de plástico desechables, Chile ha podido reducir su huella de carbono.  🇬🇧 Due to the restrictions in the use of disposable plastic bags, Chile has been able to reduce its carbon print. 

Spanish Phrases to Express Your Opinion in Essays

Essay topics commonly require you to write what you think about something. Or whether you agree or disagree with an idea, a project, or someone’s views. 

The words below will allow you to express your opinion effortlessly and go beyond the typical “creo que ” – “ I think ”:

• 🇪🇸 (yo) opino que – 🇬🇧 in my opinion
• 🇪🇸 me parece que – 🇬🇧 it seems to me
• 🇪🇸 desde mi punto de vista – 🇬🇧 from my point of view
• 🇪🇸 (no) estoy convencido que  – 🇬🇧 I am (not) convinced that
• 🇪🇸 no me cabe la menor duda – 🇬🇧 I have no doubt 
• 🇪🇸 estoy seguro que – 🇬🇧 I’m sure
• 🇪🇸 dudo que – 🇬🇧 I doubt
• 🇪🇸 sospecho que – 🇬🇧 I suspect
• 🇪🇸 asumo que – 🇬🇧 I assume
• 🇪🇸 estoy (totalmente, parcialmente) de acuerdo – 🇬🇧 I (totally, partially) agree
• 🇪🇸 no estoy de acuerdo en absoluto – 🇬🇧 I absolutely disagree
• 🇪🇸 opino diferente – 🇬🇧 I have a different opinion
• 🇪🇸 me niego a aceptar – 🇬🇧 I refuse to accept
• 🇪🇸 estoy en contra / a favor de – 🇬🇧 I am against / in favor of
• 🇪🇸 no podría estar más de acuerdo – 🇬🇧 I couldn’t agree more
• 🇪🇸 encuentro absolutamente cierto / falso  – 🇬🇧 I find it absolutely correct / false

Phrases like these can really give shape to your essay and increase its formality level. This time, let’s verify it with views on education: 

🇪🇸 Opino que estudiando remotamente los jóvenes están perdiendo las habilidades sociales.  🇬🇧 In my opinion, remote schooling makes youngsters lose their social skills. 

🇪🇸 Dudo que esta decisión traiga verdaderos cambios para el sistema educacional en mi país.  🇬🇧 I doubt this change will bring any real changes to the educational system in my country. 

🇪🇸 Estoy totalmente de acuerdo con que todos deberían tener acceso a educación de calidad. 🇬🇧 I totally agree that everyone should have access to good quality education. 

🇪🇸 Estoy en contra de escuelas solo para niñas o solo para niños.  🇬🇧 I am against girls-only or boys-only schools. 

Pay attention to certain language differences between English and Spanish versions. The most common mistake that my students make is to say “ I am agree ” ❌ (direct translation from “ Estoy de acuerdo ”) instead of “ I agree ”✔️. 

Fancy Academic Verbs and Expressions for Essays in Spanish

Would you like to impress your professor with sophisticated academic vocabulary or get extra points on your DELE? Grab a pen and take notes:

• 🇪🇸 afirmar  – 🇬🇧 to state
• 🇪🇸 refutar – 🇬🇧 to refute, to reject
• 🇪🇸 argumentar – 🇬🇧 to argue that
• 🇪🇸 poner en duda  – 🇬🇧 to cast doubt
• 🇪🇸 poner en evidencia – 🇬🇧 to shed light 
• 🇪🇸 demostrar – 🇬🇧 to demonstrate
• 🇪🇸 concentrarse en – 🇬🇧 to focus on
• 🇪🇸 sostener – 🇬🇧 to sustain
• 🇪🇸 reflejar – 🇬🇧 to reflect
• 🇪🇸 considerando (que) – 🇬🇧 considering (that)
• 🇪🇸 siendo realista – 🇬🇧 realistically speaking
• 🇪🇸 de cierto modo – 🇬🇧 in a way
• 🇪🇸 en lo que se refiere a – 🇬🇧 with regards to
• 🇪🇸 en vista de – 🇬🇧 in view of
• 🇪🇸 de acuerdo a – 🇬🇧 according to
• 🇪🇸 no obstante – 🇬🇧 nevertheless

So many great words to work with! And some of them sound really similar to English, right? This is exactly why Spanish is such a good option when you want to learn a second language.

Let’s see how to make all these verbs and phrases work:

🇪🇸 Los resultados de los nuevos estudios ponen en duda la relación entre el consumo de huevos y altos niveles de colesterol.  🇬🇧 The recent study findings cast doubt on the relation between egg consumption and high cholesterol levels. 

🇪🇸 Los autores del estudio argumentan que los azucares y los carbohidratos juegan un rol importante en este asunto.  🇬🇧 The authors of the study argue that sugars and carbs play an important role in this topic. 

🇪🇸 En lo que se refiere al consumo de carne, este influye directamente los niveles de colesterol malo, sobre todo si es carne con mucha grasa. 🇬🇧 Regarding meat consumption, it directly influences the levels of “bad” cholesterol, especially in the case of greasy meat. 

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7 best main reasons to learn spanish (from a teacher), shopping in spanish – a complete collection of essential phrases and words, spanish conditional tenses – the complete guide, your spanish journey starts here, privacy overview.

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• Working with sources
• How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago

How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago

Published on April 15, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Jack Caulfield. Revised on May 31, 2023.

Quoting means copying a passage of someone else’s words and crediting the source. To quote a source, you must ensure:

• The quoted text is enclosed in quotation marks or formatted as a block quote
• The original author is correctly cited
• The text is identical to the original

The exact format of a quote depends on its length and on which citation style you are using. Quoting and citing correctly is essential to avoid plagiarism which is easy to detect with a good plagiarism checker .

Table of contents

How to cite a quote in apa, mla and chicago, introducing quotes, quotes within quotes, shortening or altering a quote, block quotes, when should i use quotes, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about quoting sources.

Every time you quote, you must cite the source correctly . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style you’re using. Three of the most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

Citing a quote in APA Style

To cite a direct quote in APA , you must include the author’s last name, the year, and a page number, all separated by commas . If the quote appears on a single page, use “p.”; if it spans a page range, use “pp.”

An APA in-text citation can be parenthetical or narrative. In a parenthetical citation , you place all the information in parentheses after the quote. In a narrative citation , you name the author in your sentence (followed by the year), and place the page number after the quote.

Punctuation marks such as periods and commas are placed after the citation, not within the quotation marks .

• Evolution is a gradual process that “can act only by very short and slow steps” (Darwin, 1859, p. 510) .
• Darwin (1859) explains that evolution “can act only by very short and slow steps” (p. 510) .

Complete guide to APA

Citing a quote in mla style.

An MLA in-text citation includes only the author’s last name and a page number. As in APA, it can be parenthetical or narrative, and a period (or other punctuation mark) appears after the citation.

• Evolution is a gradual process that “can act only by very short and slow steps” (Darwin 510) .
• Darwin explains that evolution “can act only by very short and slow steps” (510) .

Complete guide to MLA

Citing a quote in chicago style.

Chicago style uses Chicago footnotes to cite sources. A note, indicated by a superscript number placed directly after the quote, specifies the author, title, and page number—or sometimes fuller information .

Unlike with parenthetical citations, in this style, the period or other punctuation mark should appear within the quotation marks, followed by the footnote number.

Complete guide to Chicago style

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Make sure you integrate quotes properly into your text by introducing them in your own words, showing the reader why you’re including the quote and providing any context necessary to understand it.  Don’t  present quotations as stand-alone sentences.

There are three main strategies you can use to introduce quotes in a grammatically correct way:

• Add an introductory sentence
• Use an introductory signal phrase
• Integrate the quote into your own sentence

The following examples use APA Style citations, but these strategies can be used in all styles.

Introductory sentence

Introduce the quote with a full sentence ending in a colon . Don’t use a colon if the text before the quote isn’t a full sentence.

If you name the author in your sentence, you may use present-tense verbs , such as “states,” “argues,” “explains,” “writes,” or “reports,” to describe the content of the quote.

• In Denmark, a recent poll shows that: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• In Denmark, a recent poll shows that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• Levring (2018) reports that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (p. 3).

Introductory signal phrase

You can also use a signal phrase that mentions the author or source, but doesn’t form a full sentence. In this case, you follow the phrase with a comma instead of a colon.

• According to a recent poll, “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• As Levring (2018) explains, “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (p. 3).

Integrated into your own sentence

To quote a phrase that doesn’t form a full sentence, you can also integrate it as part of your sentence, without any extra punctuation .

• A recent poll suggests that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• Levring (2018) reports that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (p. 3).

When you quote text that itself contains another quote, this is called a nested quotation or a quote within a quote. It may occur, for example, when quoting dialogue from a novel.

To distinguish this quote from the surrounding quote, you enclose it in single (instead of double) quotation marks (even if this involves changing the punctuation from the original text). Make sure to close both sets of quotation marks at the appropriate moments.

Note that if you only quote the nested quotation itself, and not the surrounding text, you can just use double quotation marks.

• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “ “ Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, ” he told me, “ just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had ” ” (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had ” (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had’” (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway begins by quoting his father’s invocation to “remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (Fitzgerald 1).

Note:  When the quoted text in the source comes from another source, it’s best to just find that original source in order to quote it directly. If you can’t find the original source, you can instead cite it indirectly .

Often, incorporating a quote smoothly into your text requires you to make some changes to the original text. It’s fine to do this, as long as you clearly mark the changes you’ve made to the quote.

Shortening a quote

If some parts of a passage are redundant or irrelevant, you can shorten the quote by removing words, phrases, or sentences and replacing them with an ellipsis (…). Put a space before and after the ellipsis.

Be careful that removing the words doesn’t change the meaning. The ellipsis indicates that some text has been removed, but the shortened quote should still accurately represent the author’s point.

Altering a quote

You can add or replace words in a quote when necessary. This might be because the original text doesn’t fit grammatically with your sentence (e.g., it’s in a different verb tense), or because extra information is needed to clarify the quote’s meaning.

Use brackets to distinguish words that you have added from words that were present in the original text.

The Latin term “ sic ” is used to indicate a (factual or grammatical) mistake in a quotation. It shows the reader that the mistake is from the quoted material, not a typo of your own.

In some cases, it can be useful to italicize part of a quotation to add emphasis, showing the reader that this is the key part to pay attention to. Use the phrase “emphasis added” to show that the italics were not part of the original text.

You usually don’t need to use brackets to indicate minor changes to punctuation or capitalization made to ensure the quote fits the style of your text.

If you quote more than a few lines from a source, you must format it as a block quote . Instead of using quotation marks, you set the quote on a new line and indent it so that it forms a separate block of text.

Block quotes are cited just like regular quotes, except that if the quote ends with a period, the citation appears after the period.

To the end of his days Bilbo could never remember how he found himself outside, without a hat, a walking-stick or any money, or anything that he usually took when he went out; leaving his second breakfast half-finished and quite unwashed-up, pushing his keys into Gandalf’s hands, and running as fast as his furry feet could carry him down the lane, past the great Mill, across The Water, and then on for a mile or more. (16)

Avoid relying too heavily on quotes in academic writing . To integrate a source , it’s often best to paraphrase , which means putting the passage in your own words. This helps you integrate information smoothly and keeps your own voice dominant.

However, there are some situations in which quoting is more appropriate.

When focusing on language

If you want to comment on how the author uses language (for example, in literary analysis ), it’s necessary to quote so that the reader can see the exact passage you are referring to.

When giving evidence

To convince the reader of your argument, interpretation or position on a topic, it’s often helpful to include quotes that support your point. Quotes from primary sources (for example, interview transcripts or historical documents) are especially credible as evidence.

When presenting an author’s position or definition

When you’re referring to secondary sources such as scholarly books and journal articles, try to put others’ ideas in your own words when possible.

But if a passage does a great job at expressing, explaining, or defining something, and it would be very difficult to paraphrase without changing the meaning or losing the weakening the idea’s impact, it’s worth quoting directly.

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• ChatGPT vs human editor
• ChatGPT citations
• Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
• Using ChatGPT for your studies
• What is ChatGPT?
• Chicago style
• Paraphrasing
• Critical thinking

 Plagiarism

• Types of plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Academic integrity
• Consequences of plagiarism
• Common knowledge

A quote is an exact copy of someone else’s words, usually enclosed in quotation marks and credited to the original author or speaker.

In academic writing , there are three main situations where quoting is the best choice:

• To analyze the author’s language (e.g., in a literary analysis essay )
• To give evidence from primary sources
• To accurately present a precise definition or argument

Don’t overuse quotes; your own voice should be dominant. If you just want to provide information from a source, it’s usually better to paraphrase or summarize .

Every time you quote a source , you must include a correctly formatted in-text citation . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style .

For example, a direct quote in APA is cited like this: “This is a quote” (Streefkerk, 2020, p. 5).

Every in-text citation should also correspond to a full reference at the end of your paper.

A block quote is a long quote formatted as a separate “block” of text. Instead of using quotation marks , you place the quote on a new line, and indent the entire quote to mark it apart from your own words.

The rules for when to apply block quote formatting depend on the citation style:

• APA block quotes are 40 words or longer.
• MLA block quotes are more than 4 lines of prose or 3 lines of poetry.
• Chicago block quotes are longer than 100 words.

If you’re quoting from a text that paraphrases or summarizes other sources and cites them in parentheses , APA and Chicago both recommend retaining the citations as part of the quote. However, MLA recommends omitting citations within a quote:

• APA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic (Jones, 2015; Sill, 2019; Paulson, 2020) shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).
• MLA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).

Footnote or endnote numbers that appear within quoted text should be omitted in all styles.

If you want to cite an indirect source (one you’ve only seen quoted in another source), either locate the original source or use the phrase “as cited in” in your citation.

In scientific subjects, the information itself is more important than how it was expressed, so quoting should generally be kept to a minimum. In the arts and humanities, however, well-chosen quotes are often essential to a good paper.

In social sciences, it varies. If your research is mainly quantitative , you won’t include many quotes, but if it’s more qualitative , you may need to quote from the data you collected .

As a general guideline, quotes should take up no more than 5–10% of your paper. If in doubt, check with your instructor or supervisor how much quoting is appropriate in your field.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. & Caulfield, J. (2023, May 31). How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago. Scribbr. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/how-to-quote/

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How to Say “Quote” in Spanish: Formal and Informal Ways

Learning how to say “quote” in different languages can be a fun way to expand your vocabulary and connect with people from different cultures. In this guide, we will explore the different ways to say “quote” in Spanish, both formally and informally. While regional variations exist, we will focus on the versions widely understood across Spanish-speaking countries. So, let’s dive in!

Formal Ways to Say “Quote”

If you’re in a formal setting or writing a professional document, it’s important to use appropriate vocabulary. Here are a few formal ways to say “quote” in Spanish:

The most common and widely understood translation of “quote” in a formal context is cita . You can use it when referring to a quotation from a text, speech, or any other source. Here’s an example:

En su discurso, el profesor mencionó una cita famosa de Shakespeare. (In his speech, the professor mentioned a famous quote by Shakespeare.)

2. Frase célebre

Another formal way to refer to a quote is frase célebre . This term is often used when talking about well-known quotes or famous sayings. Here’s an example:

La cita que aparece en su libro es una frase célebre de Mahatma Gandhi. (The quote appearing in his book is a famous saying by Mahatma Gandhi.)

Informal Ways to Say “Quote”

When engaging in casual conversations or using a more relaxed tone, informal vocabulary is more suitable. Here are a couple of informal ways to say “quote” in Spanish:

Yes, cita can be used in both formal and informal contexts. However, while it may sound a bit more formal, it is still widely understood and used in everyday conversations. Here’s an example:

¿Puedes recordar la cita que dijo el actor en la entrevista? (Can you remember the quote the actor said in the interview?)

A more relaxed term for “quote” is frase . It can be used informally when referring to a specific quote or phrase. For example:

¿Cuál es tu frase favorita de la película? (What’s your favorite quote from the movie?)

Regional Variations

While the above translations are understood in various Spanish-speaking countries, it’s worth noting that regional variations do exist. For instance, in some Latin American countries, like Mexico and parts of Central America, the term refrán is used more frequently to refer to a saying or proverb. However, it is not commonly used to denote a quote from a recognized source.

It’s always a good idea to consider the region you’re in and adapt your vocabulary accordingly to ensure better communication and understanding.

• When quoting someone, begin with a quotation mark (comillas) (“”) and end with the respective closing quotation mark (“”).
• Always attribute the quote to the original author or source for credibility.
• Be mindful of the formal or informal context when choosing which term to use.
• Practice using quotes in sentences to reinforce your understanding and improve your fluency.

Now that you’ve learned different ways to say “quote” in Spanish, whether you’re in a formal or informal situation, you can confidently express yourself and add more variety to your conversations. Language is a bridge that connects us, and mastering new vocabulary only makes that bridge stronger!

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Designing Our Future: Humanities-Centered Teaching, Learning, and Thinking in the 21st Century

Call for Proposals for Special Issue

Interdisciplinary Humanities

Designing Our Future:   Humanities-Centered Teaching, Learning, and Thinking in the 21st Century

Katy Hanggi, Chair & Associate Professor, Dept. of Focused Inquiry, Virginia Commonwealth University

Julianna Grabianowski, Assistant Professor of Business, Doane University

Jared List, Associate Professor of Spanish, Doane University

Special Issue Description

What does the future hold for the humanities? Now, perhaps more than ever, the humanities have the opportunity and the urgency to innovate and adapt to the shifting dimensions of the twenty-first century. The humanities provide valuable habits of minds and skills that prepare students for their professional and personal lives. They teach us about the human condition: how we relate to each other; how we understand and work with differing perspectives; how we express ourselves; how we act ethically; and, how we better come to know ourselves. The disciplined university has traditionally organized the humanities within majors, minors, certificates, and general education courses. This structure creates silos where subjects are taught within a particular discipline with an occasional slippage into other disciplines. With the increasing corporatization of the university and the shrinking of higher education, the humanities have become subject to market forces and student demand, positioning academics to continually demonstrate the “value” of their program, degree, or course.

To push against this rigid structure, some colleges and universities are being creative and innovative with the humanities. Some are trying to infuse the humanities in places where traditionally they have been absent, and some are reconceptualizing and repackaging them. For example, how do the humanities give us a roadmap to determine the ethical boundaries of the non-human, cyborgian networks of knowledge generated by artificial intelligence? Or, how does the growing emphasis on incorporating multidisciplinary “real-world” problem-solving in general education courses demonstrate the necessity of humanities thinking? 

Thus, this special issue which aims to highlight the strategies and unique ways in which we are adapting and responding to the shifts in higher education. What we note is rather than a focus on disciplinary content, we see an emerging emphasis on humanities thinking and its “real-world” application. We have obstacles to confront and many possibilities before us. For example, the pandemic has shown that higher education can pivot quickly, and with those changes, many of us are seeing the speed of change continue to increase amidst the challenges colleges and universities face. Do we continue to operate within and make small changes to the siloed structures that have defined the American university? Or can we imagine new configurations and ways of thinking about our disciplines, courses, and pedagogies that empower us to design our futures?  

Accordingly, we invite scholars to contribute essays that engage with the following questions: 

How do we center the humanities in interdisciplinary work through meaningful and productive collaborations?

How do we design humanities courses or programs that generate student interest and demonstrate their value?

How do we survive the shrinking of higher education amidst an unknown future?

In what ways can the humanities be positioned as central to institutions’ strategic priorities?

How can we capitalize on higher education’s emphasis on experiential learning and career preparedness to strengthen our offerings?

How can innovative pedagogies inform new approaches to the humanities?

How can online learning be leveraged to extend the reach of what the humanities tell us how to relate to another?

How does the growth of generative AI impact humanities education in productive, innovative ways?

What are institutions’ creative responses to the obstacles of interdisciplinarity?

How do we prepare graduate students for a higher education landscape that is unlikely to provide them with full-time employment in academia?

How are community colleges drawing connections between the humanities and workforce readiness? 

Proposal Submission Guidelines and Process

Submit essay proposals to [email protected] by Friday, April 26,2024,including the following information: 

Proposed essay title

Abstract of 250 words 

Name(s) of author(s) and academic affiliation(s)

Brief bio(s) (100 words of less) of author(s)

Essay Guidelines

Essays will meet the following norms:

5,000 to 7,000 words (including notes) 

double spaced, 12-points Times New Roman font, 1” fully-justified margins

adheres to latest version of The Chicago Manual of Style

Endnotes only (notes should show full citations followed by shortened citations for the same sources; single-spaced and 10-points Times New Roman font))

no bibliography

quotes over three lines in length need to be in a free-standing block of text with no quotation marks, indented on the left side of the block, and starting the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented 1/2 inch from the left margin while maintaining double-spacing;

permissions to reprint images and illustrations, if any, are the responsibility of the author and should be arranged for and paid before submitting the article;

sent electronically in MS Word file to editors

Important Dates and Timeline

Essay proposals deadline: Friday, April 26, 2024

Notification of accepted essay proposals: Friday, May 10, 2024

Completed essay deadline: Friday, September 20, 2024

Anticipated publication: Spring/Summer 2025

Essay proposals will be evaluated on relevance to topic, originality, and clarity. Essay drafts will undergo a double-blind peer review process where reviewers will evaluate originality, clarity, and documentation, and scholarly contribution to decide if the essay is suitable for publication, in need of revision, or not publishable.  

About the Journal We encourage you to take a look at past issues  here  to familiarize yourself with the journal and the published works. Per HERA’s website, “The Humanities Education and Research Association's Scholarly Journal: Interdisciplinary Humanities is a refereed scholarly journal, published three times a year. The journal accepts articles that deal with ‘any learning activities with content that draws upon human cultural heritage, uses methods that derive from the humanistic disciplines, and has a purpose that is concerned with human values.’ Articles dealing with the interdisciplinary humanities or humanities education at all levels (K-12, college, and adult learning) are welcome, as are creative works of poetry, fiction and non-fiction that reflect the journal's interests and the themes of specific issues.” 

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Guest Essay

There’s No Such Thing as an American Bible

By Esau McCaulley

Contributing Opinion Writer

The presumptive Republican nominee for president of the United States, who weeks ago started selling shoes , is now peddling Bibles. During Holy Week.

What’s special about this Bible? So many things. For example, according to a promotional website, it’s the only Bible endorsed by Donald Trump. It’s also the only one endorsed by the country singer Lee Greenwood. Admittedly, the translation isn’t distinctive — it’s your standard King James Version — but the features are unique. This Bible includes the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance and part of the lyrics of Mr. Greenwood’s song “God Bless the USA.” Perhaps most striking, the cover of the Bible does not include a cross or any symbol of the Christian tradition; instead, it is emblazoned with the American flag.

While part of me wants to laugh at the absurdity of it — and marvel at the sheer audacity — I find the messaging unsettling and deeply wrong. This God Bless the USA Bible, as it’s officially named, focuses on God’s blessing of one particular people. That is both its danger and, no doubt for some, its appeal.

Whether this Bible is an example of Christian nationalism I will leave to others. It is at least an example of Christian syncretism, a linking of certain myths about American exceptionalism and the Christian faith. This is the American church’s consistent folly: thinking that we are the protagonists in a story that began long before us and whose main character is in fact the Almighty.

Holy Week is the most sacred portion of the Christian calendar, a time when the church recounts the central events of our faith’s narrative, climaxing in the death and resurrection of Jesus. That story, unlike the parochial God Bless the USA Bible, does not belong to any culture.

Holy Week is celebrated on every continent and in too many languages to number. Some of the immigrants Mr. Trump declared were “ poisoning the blood” of America will probably shout “Christ is risen!” this Easter. Many of them come from the largely Christian regions of Latin America and the Caribbean. They may have entered the country with Bibles in their native tongues nestled securely among their other belongings.

One of the beauties of the Christian faith is that it leaps over the lines dividing countries, leading the faithful to call fellow believers from very different cultures brothers and sisters. Most of the members of this international community consist of the poor living in Africa, Asia and Latin America. There are more Spanish-speaking Christians than English- speaking ones .

If there are central messages that emerge from the variety of services that take place during Holy Week, for many Christians they are the setting aside of power to serve, the supremacy of love, the offer of divine forgiveness and the vulnerability of a crucified God.

This is not the stuff of moneymaking schemes or American presidential campaigns.

It was Pontius Pilate , standing in as the representative of the Roman Empire, who sentenced Jesus to death. The Easter story reminds believers that empires are more than willing to sacrifice the innocent if it allows rulers to stay in power. The church sees Christ’s resurrection as liberating the believer from the power of sin. The story challenges imperial modes of thinking, supplanting the endless pursuit of power with the primacy of love and service.

Easter, using the language of St. Augustine, represents the victory of the City of God over the City of Man. It declares the limits of the moral reasoning of nation-states and has fortified Christians who’ve resisted evil regimes such as fascists in South America, Nazis in Germany, apartheid in South Africa and segregation in the United States.

For any politician to suppose that a nation’s founding documents and a country music song can stand side by side with biblical texts fails at a theological and a moral level. I can’t imagine people in other countries going for anything like it. It is hard to picture a modern “God Bless England” Bible with elements of British common law appended to Christianity’s most sacred texts.

I am glad for the freedoms that we share as Americans. But the idea of a Bible explicitly made for one nation displays a misunderstanding of the story the Bible attempts to tell. The Christian narrative culminates in the creation of the Kingdom (and family) of God, a transnational community united by faith and mutual love.

Roman Catholics , Anglicans and Orthodox Christians, who together claim around 1.5 billion members, describe the Bible as a final authority in matters of faith. Evangelicals, who have overwhelmingly supported Mr. Trump over the course of three election cycles, are known for their focus on Scripture, too. None of these traditions cite or refer to any American political documents in their doctrinal statements — and for good reason.

This Bible may be unique in its form, but the agenda it pursues has recurred throughout history. Christianity is often either co-opted or suppressed; it is rarely given the space to be itself. African American Christians have long struggled to disentangle biblical texts from their misuse in the United States. There is a reason that the abolitionist Frederick Douglass said that between the Christianity of this land (America) and the Christianity of Christ, he recognized the “widest possible difference.”

And while Christianity was used to give theological cover to North American race-based chattel slavery, it was violently attacked in places like El Salvador and Uganda, when leaders including the archbishops Oscar Romero and Janani Luwum spoke out against political corruption.

The work of the church is to remain constantly vigilant to maintain its independence and the credibility of its witness. In the case of this particular Bible, discerning what is happening is not difficult. Christians are being played. Rather than being an appropriate time to debut a patriotic Bible, Easter season is an opportune moment for the church to recover the testimony of the supremacy of the cross over any flag, especially one on the cover of a Bible.

Esau McCaulley ( @esaumccaulley ) is a contributing Opinion writer, the author of “ How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family’s Story of Hope and Survival in the American South ” and an associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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