Period FAQs

do periods go inside quotation marks

by Dr. Allison Bauch III Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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Additional Punctuation Rules When Using Quotation Marks
Put commas and periods within quotation marks, except when a parenthetical reference follows. He said, "I may forget your name, but I never forget a face." History is stained with blood spilled in the name of "civilization."

Do you put quotation marks after period?

With only one exception, the period always comes inside closing quotation marks. This rule applies even if only one quoted word ends the sentence. Thus: He said, "We need to tell the boss right away."

Does a period go inside or outside the apostrophe?

The period itself isn't a part of a particular sentence. It serves the very simple function of indicating that a sentence has ended. Therefore the apostrophe, being a part of the sentence, comes before the period.

When can period live outside quotation mark?

When a period or comma is next to an end quotation mark, the period or comma must go before the end quotation mark: He said, "It will rain today." Not today". When a quote is a question or an exclamation, the question mark or the exclamation point is part of the quote and belongs before the end quotation mark: She asked, “Will it rain today?”

Do the quotation marks come before or after the period?

When a comma or period is needed after a quotation, publishers in the United States typically put the punctuation mark before the closing quotation mark. The reason for this convention is to improve the appearance of the text. The convention goes back at least to the nineteenth century.

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Where do commas go in a quotation?

The MLA Handbook notes, “By convention, commas and periods that directly follow quotations go inside the closing quotation marks” (267). Thus, in the following sentence, the comma is placed after taught:

Why is spacing less pronounced in British style?

In British style, spacing issues are less pronounced because it uses single quotation marks instead of double, and commas and periods are placed outside the quotation marks : ‘You’ve got to be carefully taught’, wrote Oscar Hammerstein II.

Do you put a comma inside or outside quotation marks?

This placement is traditional in the United States. William Strunk, Jr., and E. B. White, writing in 1959, noted that “ [t]ypographical usage dictates the comma be inside the marks, though logically it seems not to belong there” (36). In other words, in the predigital era, when fonts were fixed-width, setting a period or comma outside the quotation marks would have created an unsightly gap:

Is there a punctuation mark outside quotation marks?

Yagoda also points to the inconsistency of the method used in the United States, which places “ other punctuation marks—semicolons, colons, exclamation points, question marks, dashes” outside quotation marks. But the editors of The Chicago Manual of Style note that “ [e]xceptions” to the British style “are widespread” (309), so in terms of consistency, neither approach is better than the other.

Do you put periods in quotation marks?

But if you are preparing a paper for a class or for publication in the United States, place periods and commas inside quotation marks.

Does a quotation mark make a typographic difference?

But Robert Bringhurst, writing in the era of digital fonts, maintains that it generally “makes no typographic difference” if quotation marks “follow commas and periods or precede them” (87). Digital typographers can close up the gap:

Do you put a period in a quotation?

For people in the United States, periods and commas go inside the quotation marks.

Do you need to punctuate after a colon?

In the second example, when a question or exclamation mark comes at the end of a sentence, there’s no need for an additional ending punctuation after the quote marks.

Should you leave a colon in a quote?

Is the colon, semicolon, parenthesis, exclamation point, or question mark a part of the direct quote? If that’s the case, you should leave it as part of the quotation, placing it inside the quotation marks.

Do exclamation points go inside or outside the quotation marks?

For instance, the rules about whether to include exclamation points inside or outside the quotation marks may vary from guide to guide. Luckily, when it comes to periods and commas, the answer to whether they go inside or outside the quotation mark is much simpler. If you’re using American English, they go inside.

What is a quote mark?

Quotation marks are most often used to mark something that is spoken or, in other words, to designate a direct quote. That is, they display something that’s been said, word for word.

When to use a comma in a quote?

As in the example above, a comma is used before quotation marks to introduce a direct quote. If the description of the quote’s speaker is placed after the quotation, a comma is always placed within the quotation marks.

What is a scare quote?

Scare Quotes: Also known as air quotes, sneer quotes, or shudder quotes, scare quotes are put around a word or phrase to note atypical usage or disapproval. Oftentimes, scare quotes are used with a negative or sarcastic tone that distances the person using the scare quotes from the person (real or hypothetical) that they’re quoting.

Do you put a comma in a quotation?

In American English, commas and periods should be placed within the quotation marks as long as they do not change the meaning of the quotation. In instances where punctuation would change the meaning of the quotation—that is, when the punctuation, such as a question mark or exclamation point, does not belong to the quotation—it should be placed outside of the quotation marks.

Do you capitalize a quote in a sentence?

Alternatively, when a quote only references a fragment of a quote, a phrase, or part of a sentence, the first word of the quote does not need to be capitalized. This includes cases when a quote is interrupted by a description.

Is a quotation a punctuation?

As you’ve probably noticed, quotation marks are an extremely common set of punctuation marks. Continue your journey to grammatical excellence, and follow along with this guide to brush up on the rules of using quotation marks.

When to use quotation marks in a sentence?

Finally, you can use quotation marks around a word or phrase when you need to show that you’re discussing the use of that word or phrase, rather than using it as part of the sentence.

How to end a quote in two parts?

If you’re splitting a quote into two separate parts, you’ll end the first section with a comma inside of the quotes and begin the second section with another comma inside the quotes: “The problem is,” Rachel said, “no one wants to listen to anyone else’s opinion.”.

Do you put periods inside quotation marks?

While Americans place periods and commas inside of quotation marks, those in the UK do the opposite. In British English, all punctuation marks go outside of the quotation marks unless the punctuation is a part of the material being quoted.

Can you use punctuation with quotation marks?

Here’s a quick guide to using punctuation with quotation marks like a pro, and you can quote us on that.

Do quotation marks go inside or outside of quotation marks?

If you’ve ever been writing a quote and found yourself wondering if that exclamation point should go inside the quotation marks or outside of them, you definitely aren’t alone . Here’s a quick guide to using punctuation with quotation marks like ...

Do exclamation points go inside quotation marks?

Overall, you can stick to this basic rule: question marks and exclamation points go inside quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted matter. If they punctuate the sentence as a whole, they go outside of the quotation marks.

Do you put a period in a quote?

In American usage, periods and commas typically go inside of quotation marks. When you’re quoting someone’s exact words, introduce the quote with open quotation marks, and end the quote with a period or comma and closing quotation marks. The teacher said, “Your essay is due on Monday.”. “I am so tired,” Mom said as she sat down on the couch.

Why do we use quotation marks?

We use quotation marks with direct quotes, with titles of certain works, to imply alternate meanings, and to write words as words.

What is a quotation mark in a poem?

Poems, chapters, articles—smaller bodies of work, or bodies of work which form a larger body of work —are emphasized by using quotation marks. You can also use quotation marks to signify words used as words. For example: “inhale” means to take a breath.

What does John say when it's hot outside?

John said he hated when it was hot outside. The first sentence contains a direct quote, a quote in which you report the exact words John used. The second sentence contains an indirect quote, which is a paraphrased version of what John said. Quotation marks are used only with direct quotes. This rule isn’t just for speech.

Why do you use quotation marks in AP stylebook?

Depending on the style guide you’re using, you might use quotation marks to emphasize titles of all types of compositions (AP Stylebook), or just short compositions (most of the other style guides).

What is a quote around a word?

It’s a way of implying that you’re using a term in an unusual way or that you don’t necessarily approve of it :

What is a run in quote?

Run-in quotations are shorter and they are formatted the same as the surrounding text. Block quotes are long quotes that are separated from the surrounding text. Usually, they appear as a separate paragraph (or series of paragraphs) with a different font, a change in the line spacing, or a wider margin. In any case, block quotes don’t need ...

Is a quote capitalized?

Sometimes, the text inside quotation marks is capitalized, other times it isn’t. Capitalization of the quoted material depends on the material itself— if you’re quoting a complete sentence, you should start the quote with a capital letter, even if the quote is placed in the middle of a sentence:

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