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Guest Posted 23 years ago
Grammar
Quotation marks + punctuation (Guest:Richard3)
When using quotation marks, does one insert punctuation marks that are not actually part of the quotation inside or outside the closing quotation mark?
Examples: "...there was much fighting in the area," which indicates that ....
or should it be:
"...fighting in the area", which indicates that ....
I am seeing more books with the latter example and I think I was taught the former when I was in school. Has the general rule changed or am I remembering wrongly?
Examples: "...there was much fighting in the area," which indicates that ....
or should it be:
"...fighting in the area", which indicates that ....
I am seeing more books with the latter example and I think I was taught the former when I was in school. Has the general rule changed or am I remembering wrongly?
Top answer
I'd say definitely the latter.. a) The punctuation is not part of the quote, so it shouldn't be inside the quotation marks. b) The punctuation is separating the quote from the rest of the sentence, hence it's appearance outside.
- I'd say definitely the latter..
- a) The punctuation is not part of the quote, so it shouldn't be inside the quotation marks.
- b) The punctuation is separating the quote from the rest of the sentence, hence it's appearance outside.
- fighting in the area", which indicates that..
- is correct in English.
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14 Answers
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I'd say definitely the latter..
a) The punctuation is not part of the quote, so it shouldn't be inside the quotation marks.
b) The punctuation is separating the quote from the rest of the sentence, hence it's appearance outside.
"...fighting in the area", which indicates that.. is correct in English.
a) The punctuation is not part of the quote, so it shouldn't be inside the quotation marks.
b) The punctuation is separating the quote from the rest of the sentence, hence it's appearance outside.
"...fighting in the area", which indicates that.. is correct in English.
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FYI, in the United States almost all punctuation goes inside the quotation marks, so there the former would be correct. In the United Kingdom (and therefore Europe, I assume) it would be outside though, as hitchhiker says.
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Hey Carla, good to have you back!
What on earth would be the reasoning behind that?! They have got a good reason right?
I'm not even going into the 'centre/center' debate. <- note the dot! lol
Also see our Students: Commonly faced problems
What on earth would be the reasoning behind that?! They have got a good reason right?
I'm not even going into the 'centre/center' debate. <- note the dot! lol
Also see our Students: Commonly faced problems
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I don't think there is a good reason. I believe the convention arose because printers found that it was easier to read and worked better with the printing technology of the day... or some such thing. But don't quote me on that; I could be wrong.
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I am new and I came across this website as a result of a Google search for punctuation marks. I am actually doing a lot of editing and proofreading these days. The writer I am currently working on seems to detest introducing quoted material with anything so mundane as "He said, she said."
Typically, he writes in the following way:
=
Typically, he writes in the following way:
=
Yaja smiled at the king. “Your wife desi
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I'm too busy to answer this now, but I'll answer it this evening if you can hang on a few hours. There ARE differences between British English and American English. Will talk later. Rommie.
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Okay, I've written quite a long FAQ now. It's in another thread.
Rommie.
Rommie.
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In this forum. It's disappeared onto page 2 (or possibly even page 3 by now). Look for a thread called "The Punctuation FAQ". If you think it's any good, please say so because I'm not a moderator or an adminstrator and I can't make these things permanent.
Rommie
Rommie
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