Quotations after "call"?

Would you write in quotations (or italics) what follows "call" in sentences like:
He called me pretty.
She started calling her girlfriend.
? Thanks.

 

I wouldn't, no.

 

I would for the second. She started calling her "girlfriend." Or at least rephrase it. Without context, it looks as if she picked up the phone to call her girlfriend. Maybe say "She started referring to her as a girlfriend."

 

I don't understand the question.
why do you want to quote it?

 

If you put quotation marks the meaning changes, so it depends what you want to convey, doesn't it?

He called me pretty (he thinks she is pretty, end of story) He called me 'pretty'. (either the person calling her that, or the girl being called that knows/thinks she is not someone who would normally be called pretty. Maybe she goes around dressed in biker's gear)

She started calling her girlfriend. (she picked up the phone and started dialling) She started calling her 'girlfriend'. (she started phoning someone who was not really a girlfriend, she was just known as that OR she started to call a friend GIRLfriend. She hadn't called her this previously)

Let's all sing together: 'Punctuation has me--e--e--eaning, all punctuation has a purpose under he--e--eavan.'

 

Totally, and that is why I picked that sentence, because it seems it's calling for quotations or italics. But if so, why not the other? It is the same meaning, that she/he used a certain word to refer to something.

 

'pretty' would also have to be in " " if that's a nickname the guy was using for her...

 

^^^ I hadn't thought of that one--but I guess 'Pretty' would need a capital letter then, if that was a name he used to address her?

 

^^^ madhoca: Not always; I don't think it would turn into a pronoun in this case. Here, the girlfriend might say something like, "And where would you like to go out tonight, pretty?" It would be a term of endearment, like saying "honey" or "sweetpie."

I don't think this is what lameri is referring to though. XD In response to lameri, I wouldn't put the first one in quotation marks, but I would use them in the second example. I can't tell if this is just a matter of personal preference however, sorry.

 

That's right. What I'm referring to is naming. Here are other examples. For some reason, I chose not to italicize the name of a festival, the name of a property, and a proper name of a cat. But then wondered if I was consistent, hence the question.

Most of the hotels are in what is called "Mary Island."
He called “strenuous exercise” a routine of thirty minutes or more...
...and it's called the Time Based Art festival.
We played a game called "Malarky."
The program, called "Heaven," included works by...
...$560 a week for an apartment at a property called Waikomo Stram Villa.
...which at the time he called "the sweet-tooth paradox."
We called him Tomka.
...a shoulder condition called “impingement syndrome.”

 

it's not a matter of having to be consistent, more of style and clarity... and your examples all make sense, the meaning clear as can be... so i'd say you have a good grasp of what works best in or out of " "...