{string}        {

    char c;
    int i, error, lookahead;
    i = 0; /* the string index the next character will be placed at */
    error = 1; /* flag that keeps track of the string's proper closure */
    lookahead = 0; /* set when looking ahead for special characters */
    char * s = malloc(2 * sizeof(char));
    *(s + i) = '\0';
    while ((c = input()) != EOF)
    {
        if (lookahead == 1)
        { /* we've already checked this character, move on */
            lookahead = 0;
            continue;
        }
        if (c == '\\')
        { /* check the next character to see if it's special */.
            c = input();
            lookahead = 1;
            if (c == 'n')
            { /* newline */
                *(s + i) = '\n';
            }
            else if (c == 't')
            { /* tab */
                c = '\t';
                *(s + i) = c;
            }
            else if (c == '\\')
            { /* backslash */
                *(s + i) = '\\';
            }
            else if (c == '\"')
            { /* double quotation mark */
                *(s + i) = '"';
            }
            else if (c == '\'')
            { /* single quotation mark */
                *(s + i) = '\'';
            }
            else
            { /* unknown character */
                *(s + i) = '\\';
                i++;
                *(s + i) = c;
                printf("Error: Unknown escape character found in string\n");
            }
        }
        else if (c == '\"')
        { /* end of string */
            *(s + i) = '\0';
            head = add_token(head, yylineno, ++token, "STRING", s);
            error = 0;
            break;
        }
        else
        { /* normal character */
            *(s + i) = c;
        }
        i++;
        s = realloc(s, (i + 2) * sizeof(char));
        *(s + i) = '\0';
    }
    if (error == 1)
    {   /* the string wasn't closed properly */
        /* thus, we're not going to store it as a token */
        printf("Error: Unclosed string %s at line %d", s, yylineno);
    }
    free(s);
/*end of string code*/
}