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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar
Punctuation when using quotes as a delimiter rather than for quoting.
0 Hi. I have an odd problem that has been bothering me for quite a while. Which of the following would be proper use of quotation marks? 02 br
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00 1. Yesterday the database entry said "Limited Stock" but now it says "Available". 02 br
00 2. Yesterday the database entry said "Limited Stock" but now it says "Available." 02 br
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00 I know that any basic gammar book would explain that punctiation is to precede the ending mark, but this just doesn't feel right when using the quotation marks as a delimiter rather than for the purpose of quotation. 02 br
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00 Perhaps, in fact, neither is correct? Would single quotes be a better choice for use in this situation? 02 br
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00 Thanks. 0-
02 br
00 1. Yesterday the database entry said "Limited Stock" but now it says "Available". 02 br
00 2. Yesterday the database entry said "Limited Stock" but now it says "Available." 02 br
02 br
00 I know that any basic gammar book would explain that punctiation is to precede the ending mark, but this just doesn't feel right when using the quotation marks as a delimiter rather than for the purpose of quotation. 02 br
02 br
00 Perhaps, in fact, neither is correct? Would single quotes be a better choice for use in this situation? 02 br
02 br
00 Thanks. 0-
Top answer
0 Generally only those punctuation marks that actually form part of the quote should be placed inside the quotation marks. Therefore, "Available". is correct - with the full stop outside the quotation mark.
- 0 Generally only those punctuation marks that actually form part of the quote should be placed inside the quotation marks.
- Therefore, "Available".
- is correct - with the full stop outside the quotation mark.
- 0-
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5 Answers
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0 Generally only those punctuation marks that actually form part of the quote should be placed inside the quotation marks. Therefore, "Available". is correct - with the full stop outside the quotation mark. 0-
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0 I have recently attended two lectures on "Academic Writing" given by two different teachers, both native speakers, and both full professors at my University here in the UK. 02 br
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00 The first one said, 'A punctuation mark 01 u 00 must 02 u 00 always be placed within the speech marks, whatever the function.' 02 br
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00 The second one, 'P
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00 The first one said, 'A punctuation mark 01 u 00 must 02 u 00 always be placed within the speech marks, whatever the function.' 02 br
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00 The second one, 'P
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0 "The way I learned it (which may or may not be right), commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks. Question marks and exclamation marks go inside the quotation marks if they refer to the quote, and outside if they refer to the sentence the quote is a part of." 02 br
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00 This is my take 0-
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00 This is my take 0-
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0 There is variation between U.S. and U.K. style on this. Periods and commas go inside the quotation marks, regardless of whether it makes sense, in the U.S. I didn't make up this silly rule - I just follow it. The Brits, I believe, are far more logical about the periods and commas. 0-
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0 01 blockquote
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00 I think this explains the different point of view of the two lecturers. 0-
01 cite 10 Grammar Geek 12 cite 12 br10 Thanks, Barbara, 02 br
10 There is variation between U.S. and U.K. style on this. 12 br
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12 blockquote
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00 I think this explains the different point of view of the two lecturers. 0-
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