quotes and punctuation
- Thread starter pontifex
- Start date
People saying it goes after the quote must not be living in America (I hear they do it different elsewhere) or they need to retake 2nd grade English.
- Dec 5, 2000
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Originally posted by: mugs
There was just a thread about this the other night.
In the US it goes inside the end quote.
actually, i believe there have been several threads about this but i searched for "quotes" and didn't find much and i think only 1 actually had to do with using them but wasn't the same as my question.
I don't know how to explain it in plainer english.
Here are some examples:
Dr. Evil wants to conquer the world using a device called a "lazer".
The intent of the sentence would be incomplete if I ended the sentence with '... called a.'
I used the quotes to fulfill the place of a direct object (or can be a noun, etc). Once I fulfilled the direct object in quotes, I can conclude the sentence with a period.
You're not a British guy living in New York are you? If you are an American, you simply have it wrong. Puncuation goes inside the quotes.
If the quote is to be exclamed, then it would be:
Did you hear her exclaim "One more time!"?
Last in first out. Start with the last punctuation and work inwards.
The punctuation goes inside the quotes, although it doesn't look right and seems to defy math and logic rules.
It's the way I was taught and I've lived in NY since I was 2. LOL?
I don't get it! If you put the period inside the quotes, then where is the period OUTSIDE the quotes to conclude the sentence? The material within the quotes does not contribute any form of punctuation to the sentence.
What you say makes sense, but it's incorrect according to the rules of English. The language makes no sense.
I thought the same thing, but a quick check of a couple novels I have on hand and google tell me otherwise.
It does. There are a few other quirks between American English and British English, but it's largely with spelling.
If you quote another person's words, then it should be in the quotation. For example, He said, "I'm too busy."
However if the quotation is used to make the words stand out (i.e. in air quotes, irony, and euphemism) then it should be at the end. So, he said he was "busy".
In your example, it should be 'I'd like to sit down with him and "talk shop".' At least that's what makes the most sense to me. (Ignoring the fact that logic dictates the period should come after the end quote.)
However if the quotation is used to make the words stand out (i.e. in air quotes, irony, and euphemism) then it should be at the end. So, he said he was "busy".
In your example, it should be 'I'd like to sit down with him and "talk shop".' At least that's what makes the most sense to me. (Ignoring the fact that logic dictates the period should come after the end quote.)
I don't see why there is so much complaint over this. To me it seems logical for the period to be within the quotes. The period seems to be floating outside of the sentence when placed outside the quotes, as my eye naturally looks for the period touching the last letter in the sentence.
John went up the tree.
John went up the tree .
John went up the "tree."
John went up the "tree".
The period is too far removed from the sentence IMO.
John went up the tree.
John went up the tree .
John went up the "tree."
John went up the "tree".
The period is too far removed from the sentence IMO.
mugs
Lifer
- Apr 29, 2003
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It's more logical for the period to be after the quotes unless the period is related to what is in the quotes. However it's English, what's logical is rarely what's correct. And here in the US, we put the period in the quotes.
What you mean is that it looks nicer when the period is in the quotes. Meh.
No, I mean it is more logical. The point of a period is for me to close off the end of the statement in my mind while reading it. If the period is outside the quotes, it delays that closing and makes the period less effective. To me the period is better used after the last letter of the sentence, rather than after the quote. That is why I explained the visible element.
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