PARAGRAPHING YOUR WORK / 49 Avoiding confusion If a quotation or a title is used by someone who is speaking, use double inverted commas for the quotations to avoid confusion: ‘I think the proverb ‘‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’’ is quite right,’ David said crossly. ‘I wanted to see ‘‘The Little Princess’’ but the last performance was yesterday,’ Alison remarked sadly. ‘Have you seen the film ‘‘Babe’’?’ asked John. ‘No, but I’m going to see the new ‘‘Dr Who’’,’ replied Sarah. In the last two examples the titles are at the end of the speech so the quotation marks are closed first. These are followed by the punctuation mark and finally by the inverted commas which close the speech. Indirect speech or reported speech needs no inverted commas as the actual words are not used. ‘Cathy’s accepted the invitation,’ said Ruth. Direct speech: Indirect speech: Ruth said that Cathy had accepted the invitation. Direct speech: ‘I want to go to the town,’ she said. CHANGING TO INDIRECT SPEECH