Which sentence have the correct punctuation.

Question

Dear all,Please see the following sentences.  Here I would like to know in which of the following sentences the second comma is  correctly used. And I would like to know which usage can I follow as a non-native speaker. 1) He said, "I invited Tom to my wedding", and he left.  2) He said, "I invited Tom to my wedding," and he left.Please see the following sentences.  Here I would like to know in which of the following sentences the second fullstop is correctly used. 1) He said, "I invited Tome to my wedding". Then he left.2) He said, "I invited Tom to my wedding." Then he left. Thank you.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

cat navy 425
1) He said, "I invited Tom to my wedding". Then he left.
2) He said, "I invited Tom to my wedding." Then he left.

This one is easier to answer.

1) follows the conventions of British punctuation.
2) follows the conventions of American punctuation.

However, in British texts, the quotation mark is often just a single quote (i.e., inverted comma):

He said, 'I invited Tom to my wedding'. Then he left.

cat navy 425
1) He said, "I invited Tom to my wedding", and he left.
2) He said, "I invited Tom to my wedding," and he left.

Where the comma is involved you will find different opinions regarding the British style.

1) follows the conventions of British punctuation (according to some style guides), but 2) follows the conventions of British punctuation (according to other style guides).
2) follows the conventions of American punctuation.

Personally, I use 1) for the period (full stop) and 2) for the comma if I am writing something fairly formal. On this forum, which is more casual, I don't think I consistently use any particular way of handling these cases. We have readers from both British and American backgrounds, so almost anything will look correct for some of our readers.

There are a great many articles online with discussions of these matters, and it is truly difficult to make sense of them all and to summarize them here. You might want to take a look for yourself. I recommend Google.

You have opened 'a can of worms', as we say.

CJ

Which sentence have the correct punctuation.

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