Si citas el título exacto, ponlo entre comillas.

Because si without an accent means if.

• si = if
• sí = yes

So in this sentence, Si citas el título exacto... means If you cite the exact title...

After si for a real or likely condition, Spanish normally uses the present indicative when talking about the present or future.

So:

• Si citas el título exacto, ponlo entre comillas.

This is the normal pattern for instructions like:

• Si vienes, avísame.
• Si lo sabes, dímelo.

English often uses present tense in the if clause too, so the logic is similar: If you cite it, put it...

Because only the main action is being given as the command.

• Si citas el título exacto = the condition
• ponlo entre comillas = the instruction or command

Spanish does not normally use the imperative after si in this kind of sentence. So si citas is correct, not an imperative.

Here citar means to cite, to quote, or to mention formally.

Depending on context, citar can also mean to summon or to arrange a meeting with someone, but in this sentence it clearly means something like to cite or mention a title.

Because the object is el título exacto, the meaning is about referring to the exact title of a work.

Spanish often uses the definite article more regularly than English does.

Here, el título exacto means the exact title. The article el is natural because we are talking about a specific thing: the exact title of something already understood from context.

Also, título is masculine singular, so the article is el.

In Spanish, adjectives often come after the noun.

So:

• el título exacto = the exact title

This is the most neutral and natural order. Putting the adjective before the noun is sometimes possible in Spanish, but it often changes the tone, emphasis, or style. Here, título exacto is the normal order.

Ponlo is made of two parts:

• pon = the tú affirmative command of poner
• lo = it

So ponlo means put it.

This is very common in Spanish:

• hazlo = do it
• míralo = look at it
• escríbelo = write it

In affirmative commands, object pronouns are attached to the end of the verb.

Because poner has an irregular tú imperative.

For tú, some very common verbs have short irregular command forms:

• poner → pon
• hacer → haz
• venir → ven
• salir → sal
• tener → ten

So:

• ponlo = put it

If you were speaking more formally to usted, it would be:

• póngalo

Because in Spanish, affirmative imperatives attach object pronouns to the verb.

So:

• ponlo = put it
• dímelo = tell it to me
• escríbela = write it

But with a negative command, the pronoun goes before the verb:

• No lo pongas

That contrast is very important:

• affirmative command → pronoun attached
• negative command → pronoun before the verb

Because lo refers to el título, and título is a masculine noun.

• el título → lo
• la cita → la

So ponlo literally means put the title in quotation marks.

This is a fixed expression meaning in quotation marks.

Literally, entre comillas is between quotation marks, which makes sense because the word or title goes between the opening and closing marks.

Spanish uses entre, not en, in this expression. So the natural phrase is:

• poner algo entre comillas

Because entre comillas is an idiomatic expression. Spanish often omits the article in fixed phrases like this.

So you normally say:

• entre comillas

not usually:

• entre las comillas

The version without the article is the standard one when you mean quotation marks in general.

Comillas is the general word for quotation marks.

In Spain, different styles can be used, including:

• comillas latinas
• comillas inglesas

But in everyday instructions, entre comillas simply means put it in quotation marks, without specifying the exact style unless that matters.

Because the sentence begins with the si clause, and then moves to the main command.

• Si citas el título exacto, ponlo entre comillas.

When a conditional clause comes first in Spanish, a comma before the main clause is standard and helps readability.

So the comma separates:

• the condition
• the instruction that follows