How can I format `^' better?

Question

I met a format problem: when I use

`$\hat{}$'

to present ‘^’, I found that the output format is very crowded. I mean the three character

" ‘ ", " ^ ", and " ’ " are printed in an excessively compact form. Anyone can give me a hint to format it better. What I want is something like ‘^’.

Answer 1

Add some spacing, a thin space could be what you want:

\documentclass{article}

\begin{document}

We use `$\,\hat{}\,$' over a symbol to denote

\end{document}

Answer 2

A solution which doesn't require extra spacing: \^{}. (\textasciicircum works too.)

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
We use `\^{}' over a symbol to denote
\end{document}