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.
Does a period come before a quation Mark?
There are three basic rules you need to remember when using quotation marks with other forms of punctuation. There are absolutely no exceptions to these three rules in American English. • Commas or periods always precede closing quotation marks of quoted material.
Is full stop before or after quotation marks?
The exclamation point would clearly be inside of the quotation, therefore full stops should be inside of the quotation if ending a sentence too, "I have a banana." However, should the sentence not be finished in the quotation, then the punctuation should come after the quotation mark.
Why do we place period inside quotation marks?
Put the period inside the quotation marks. ( This is a rule without exception. The rule for periods is still “a rule without exception,” as it was in 1906—but this time the reminder is in italics, a bit of emphasis that echoes Hart’s own insistence in 1905 on the opposite principle.
Why do you put a comma after a quote?
The reason for this convention is to improve the appearance of the text. The convention goes back at least to the nineteenth century.
What is a comma after a double quotation?
A comma or period that follows a closing double quotation mark hangs off by itself and creates a gap in the line of text (since the space over the comma or period combines with the following word space). British publishers tend to put the comma or period after the quotation mark. But the British usually use the narrower, ...
What are the conventions of scholarly quotation?
The conventions of scholarly quotation—removing the original context, adapting the extract to fit the new context, and others— are well understood. They don’t unduly compromise the source if they’re followed carefully.
Do British use commas after quotation marks?
But the British usually use the narrower, single quotation mark as the primary quotation mark. There is less of an aesthetic penalty to placing a comma or period after a single quotation mark, since the mark of punctuation isn’t stranded as far from the previous word. It’s true that the convention followed in the United States treats ...
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.
Short Answer
The period always goes inside the quotation marks. (This, however, is not true for other punctuation marks.)
Long Answer
The main problem that people have with using quotes is also a fundamental one: does the period at the end of the quote go inside or outside of the quotation marks?
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.
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.
Rules For Using Quotation Marks
Quotation Marks with Commas, Periods, and Other Punctuation
- 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. 1. Example: “I’m going to be a couple minutes late to class today,” he said. In American English, commas and periods should be plac...
Capitalization
- It can sometimes be tricky to remember when to capitalize words within quotation marks. To keep it straight, follow these two simple rules: First, when quoting a full, complete sentence, the first word of that quote should always be capitalized. 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 …
Other Uses For Quotation Marks
- Quotation marks aren’t only used to capture spoken words. You might also run into, or want to use, these other uses of quotation marks: 1. Titles: While titles of longer works (e.g., full-length books, music albums, TV shows, and films) and publications (e.g., newspapers, magazines, and journals) are often written in italics, shorter pieces found within these longer works—like songs, …