Which sentence needs quotation marks added to be correct?
a. the book said to add the tomato sauce just before serving.
b. when mrs. connors told us to be careful, i should have listened.
c. what are you talking about, marcus? asked shelby.
d. melinda asked me this morning if i had ever been to europe.

c. what are you talking about, marcus? asked shelby.

Explanation:

Quotation marks (“ ”) serve two main functions:

1. They set off the exact words of a speaker.  

•Maria turned to Felix and said, “Dominic will be out of town until Tuesday.”

•In his press conference, Mayor Jones said, “I will not seek re-election.”

•My father asked, “Will you be home in time for dinner?”

•“Get out!” Joshua shouted.

•“The time is right,” Marcus added.

•She suggested, “Pick up a quart of milk on your way home.”

•“When I think about it,” Bruce said, “Josephine often helps others.”

If the sentence doesn’t include the exact words of a speaker, don’t use quotation marks.

•I asked Susanna to meet me after work.

•Vanessa told me she’s thinking of moving to California.

•Didn’t Ripley tell you to fix the Buick before working on the Chevy?

•Jack told me I had better check my figures again.

2. Quotation marks are used to set off the titles of short works such as short stories, magazine articles, short poems, songs, and chapter titles.

•Have you ever read the short story “The Gift of the Magi”?

•My favorite poem is “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer.

•His article, “In Defense of the Nation,” was published in a well-known journal.

•For her first number, Marjorie sang “Memories.”

Occasionally, you may come across a sentence that has one quote inside another. When that happens, you must use two different types of quotation marks. The main quote is set off by regular quotation marks (“ ”), and the quote inside the quote is set off by single quotation marks (‘ ’).

•Mary glared at Joyce and declared, “Alberto said, ‘I will never marry you.’ We both know he meant it.”

•Marilynn admitted, “I really enjoyed reading the short story ‘Bartleby.’ ”

this answer to this question is c. allegory

why?

stories with allegories have a hidden symbolic meaning with a theme. the hidden meaning can be political, or other real life problems.