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Usenet Posted 18 years ago
Usage
Period after quotation??
I know that novel or story type books do not use a period after quotations, such as:
Momma Bear then said to Baby Bear: "Wake up little one!" Baby Bear replied: "Not today momma!"
However, suppose that I am typing professional legal documents that do not necessarily
follow the format of short stories. Wouldn't it make more sense to use a period
after a quotation block in order to establish the end of sentence?? Here is an example
of the document:
Bob then stated "Oh go to hell. I ain't talking to you!". I then told him that I would
not leave until he talked with me. Bob angrily replied "Screw off!". Due to the
fact Bob would not talk, I decided to leave him alone.
I have two quotes in the above paragraph which have periods after the quotes. Is that
wrong?? I want to use periods to mark off the end of the each sentence. What is
your opinion about this??
Thanks!
Momma Bear then said to Baby Bear: "Wake up little one!" Baby Bear replied: "Not today momma!"
However, suppose that I am typing professional legal documents that do not necessarily
follow the format of short stories. Wouldn't it make more sense to use a period
after a quotation block in order to establish the end of sentence?? Here is an example
of the document:
Bob then stated "Oh go to hell. I ain't talking to you!". I then told him that I would
not leave until he talked with me. Bob angrily replied "Screw off!". Due to the
fact Bob would not talk, I decided to leave him alone.
I have two quotes in the above paragraph which have periods after the quotes. Is that
wrong?? I want to use periods to mark off the end of the each sentence. What is
your opinion about this??
Thanks!
Top answer
[nq:1]I know that novel or story type books do not use a period after quotations, such as: Momma Bear then ... I want to use periods to mark off the end of the each sentence. [/nq] Logically, you are right: there are two sentences, one nested inside the other, and you may well think that each needs its own concluding punctuation mark.
- [nq:1]I know that novel or story type books do not use a period after quotations, such as: Momma Bear then ...
- I want to use periods to mark off the end of the each sentence.
- [/nq] Logically, you are right: there are two sentences, one nested inside the other, and you may well think that each needs its own concluding punctuation mark.
- But punctuation isn't entirely a matter of logic: it arises from tradition and is maintained by convention.
- There are various different traditions and conventions, notably as between American and British usage, and to some extent these may be modified by individual writers; but I think all would reject the addition of a final period (British "full stop") when the nested sentence and the outer sentence end at the same point and the nested sentence has its own exclamation or question mark.
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3 Answers
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[nq:1]I know that novel or story type books do not use a period after quotations, such as: Momma Bear then ... I want to use periods to mark off the end of the each sentence. What is your opinion about this??[/nq]
Logically, you are right: there are two sentences, one nested inside the other, and you may well think that each needs its own concluding punctuation mark. But punctuation isn't enti
Logically, you are right: there are two sentences, one nested inside the other, and you may well think that each needs its own concluding punctuation mark. But punctuation isn't enti
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[nq:2]I know that novel or story type books do not ... of the each sentenc=e. What is your opinion about this??[/nq]
[nq:1]Logically, you are right: there are two sentences, one nested inside the other, and you may well think that each ... and in practice would try to re-write the sentences. Alan Jones- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text -[/nq]
In American legal text, do not use that pe
[nq:1]Logically, you are right: there are two sentences, one nested inside the other, and you may well think that each ... and in practice would try to re-write the sentences. Alan Jones- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text -[/nq]
In American legal text, do not use that pe
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[nq:1]However, suppose that I am typing professional legal documents that do not necessarily follow the format of short stories. ... period after a quotation block in order to establish the end of sentence?? Here is an example of the document:[/nq]
Better to ask this on misc.legal.moderated .
If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)
Better to ask this on misc.legal.moderated .
If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)
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