0
Grammarfanatic Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
Why does a comma go before the closing quotation mark?
Hello, all.
Why does a comma go before the second set of quotation marks?
For example:
"I'm sorry Gaz, but it's just not working out," said Mandy. "It's not you; it's me."
It seems arbitrary that a comma should be part of the direct speech. My character Mandy hasn't paused for breath! I'm sure there must be a grammatical reason for this convention. Does anybody know?
Thanks
GF
Why does a comma go before the second set of quotation marks?
For example:
"I'm sorry Gaz, but it's just not working out," said Mandy. "It's not you; it's me."
It seems arbitrary that a comma should be part of the direct speech. My character Mandy hasn't paused for breath! I'm sure there must be a grammatical reason for this convention. Does anybody know?
Thanks
GF
Top answer
Hi, Why does a comma go before the second set of quotation marks? For example: "I'm sorry Gaz, but it's just not working out," said Mandy. " It seems arbitrary that a comma should be part of the direct speech.
- Hi, Why does a comma go before the second set of quotation marks?
- For example: "I'm sorry Gaz, but it's just not working out," said Mandy.
- " It seems arbitrary that a comma should be part of the direct speech.
- My character Mandy hasn't paused for breath!
- I'm sure there must be a grammatical reason for this convention.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
3 Answers
0
Hi,
Why does a comma go before the second set of quotation marks?
For example:
"I'm sorry Gaz, but it's just not working out," said Mandy. "It's not you; it's me."
It seems arbitrary that a comma should be part of the direct speech. My character Mandy hasn't paused for breath! I'm sure there must be a grammatical reason for this convention.
Why does a comma go before the second set of quotation marks?
For example:
"I'm sorry Gaz, but it's just not working out," said Mandy. "It's not you; it's me."
It seems arbitrary that a comma should be part of the direct speech. My character Mandy hasn't paused for breath! I'm sure there must be a grammatical reason for this convention.
00
Also, American style guides put the period and comma inside the quotation marks, always. BrE does this differently.
00
Thank you.
So for the cases below, commas will be placed inside the quotation marks, no matter how short the content in quotes is.
Is this right? I found the following partical sentences from the Collins/Cobuild Compact English Learner's Dictionary, which I presume is published?? by a British company, and thus follows the British convention.
According to AME, com
So for the cases below, commas will be placed inside the quotation marks, no matter how short the content in quotes is.
Is this right? I found the following partical sentences from the Collins/Cobuild Compact English Learner's Dictionary, which I presume is published?? by a British company, and thus follows the British convention.
According to AME, com
0
Related Questions