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Jaxalot Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Commas Inside of Quotes

I'm aware that periods should be put inside of quotes, as in this example:
The woman told me that I need to "do something useful with my life."

But I hadn't previously thought that commas belonged inside of quotes. I began to wonder about this while reading Walter Kaufmann's translation of Nietzsche's "Beyond Good and Evil" - he frequently uses them as in the following example:
And then the man said "sit down," and so I sat.

I'd previously thought that the following would be correct:
And then the man said "sit down", and so I sat.

Is one of these ways simply wrong, or are both correct?
  

Top answer

And then the man said, "Sit down," and so I sat. Yes, commas should go inside of quotation marks for quoted speech (and also a comma after the reporting verb), but periods needn't-- it depends on which side of the Atlantic you reside. The woman told me that I need to "do something useful with my life".

— Mister Micawber

  • And then the man said, "Sit down," and so I sat.
  • Yes, commas should go inside of quotation marks for quoted speech (and also a comma after the reporting verb), but periods needn't-- it depends on which side of the Atlantic you reside.
  • The woman told me that I need to "do something useful with my life".
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17 Answers
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And then the man said, "Sit down," and so I sat.

Yes, commas should go inside of quotation marks for quoted speech (and also a comma after the reporting verb), but periods needn't-- it depends on which side of the Atlantic you reside.

The woman told me that I need to "do something useful with my life".
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Mister Micawber And then the man said, "Sit down," and so I sat.

Yes, commas should go inside of quotation marks for quoted speech (and also a comma after the reporting verb),

Thanks. Good to know.

Mister Micawber but periods needn't-- it depends on which side of the Atlantic you reside.
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(This is Mr Micawber again-- I am Anonymous here because I forgot to sign in... again.-- MM)

No, I'm in Yokohama, where the periods are indecipherable-- but I've been at EF long enough to learn a thing or two. Which reminds me: welcome to English Forums!


Periods with Quotation Marks
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What about in singing "Killing Me Softly" she won the first place and...
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I would write In singing "Killing Me Softly," she won...

But that's the American way.
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I'm 49 and the more I read the rules for punctuation, the less they make sense. No wonder people say English is the hardest language to learn.

So what is the reason for putting a comma inside a quotation mark?

Thanks.
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So,
If the question is the thread title, "Should a 15 yr old who committed premeditated murder be tried as an adult", then the answer is no.
or
If the question is the thread title, "Should a 15 yr old who committed premeditated murder be tried as an adult," then the answer is no.
?
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In the US, the second one.
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Hi there, I wonder if you could help me? I've worked in the advertising business for too long to remember and have always been taught that indeed "sit down," is correct. However, in this all new world we live in, I'm having constant battles with our 'Sub-editor' and some clients who claim that "sit down", is correct.
On a personal note...I want to scream at the top of my voice and kick these
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