Quotation marks are punctuation marks used to indicate the exact words spoken or written by someone. They are typically placed at the beginning and end of a direct quote, helping to distinguish the speaker's words from the rest of the text. For example, if John said, "I love reading," the quotation marks show that these are his exact words. In addition to direct quotes, quotation marks can also be used for titles of short works, such as articles, poems, or songs. For instance, the title of the song "Yesterday" by The Beatles would be enclosed in quotation marks. This helps readers identify the specific work being referenced.