When you end a sentence with a quote where does the period go?
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.
Do you put a period before and after quotations?
The final period or comma goes inside the quotation marks, even if it is not a part of the quoted material, unless the quotation is followed by a citation. If a citation in parentheses follows the quotation, the period follows the citation.
According To The Sense: Harts Rules 1904
In 1904, when Harts Rules was first offered for sale to the public, it went through four editions. The last of these, published in July 1904 , suggested one rule for commas and periods while following another:
Punctuation And Grammar In Run
Place commas and periods within closing quotation marks, whether or not they were included in the original material:
Quotation Marksbefore Or After
I was teaching The Keys to Error-Free Writing in Vancouver, Washington, this week, and one of the hot topics was the placement of periods and commas with quotation marks. When we checked this site in class to see if I had written about the topic , we came up dry.
Insertions Alterations And Parentheses
While every quotation must be scrupulously exact, you may wish to provide the reader with information to clarify items in the quotation. For example, you may feel it advisable to indicate to whom the possessive adjective refers in the following:
Commas And Periods Within Quotation Marks
British English puts commas and periods outside the quotation marks unless the quotation is also a complete sentence or the punctuation is part of the quotation.
What About Quotation Marks Other Than Those Indicating Dialogue
In all cases of usage involving quotation marks , commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks while semicolons and colons always go outside.
Words Used In A Special Way
When a word or words are used in a different way than the dictionary definition or the common usage, they are considered words used in a special way. These are words you could use the term so-called in front of. Here are two sets of examples.
Usage of Punctuations Inside Quotation Marks
Quotation marks are punctuations that come in pairs and are used to separate the exact text or speech spoken by someone.
Usage of Punctuations Outside Quotation Marks
Now, let’s look at the instances that use punctuations outside the quotation marks.
To Wrap Up
Punctuation is like a regulator attached to written work to ensure the writer conveys the intended meaning to the audience. Proper punctuation significantly strengthens the writing and the meaning.
Pam Weber
Pam is an expert grammarian with years of experience teaching English, writing and ESL Grammar courses at the university level. She is enamored with all things language and fascinated with how we use words to shape our world.
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.
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 ...
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.
Footnotes Before or After Comma?
Footnotes should always come after commas. This allows you to stick to the most common style guides when trying to figure out the best place to put them.
Footnotes Before or After Period?
Footnotes should always come after a period or full stop when included at the end of a sentence. There is a bit of debate about this one, depending on the style guide used.
Footnotes Before or After Quotation Marks?
Quotation marks allow you to include a quote or reference to a source in your writing. You should always include a footnote after quotation marks once you have closed the quotation.
Footnotes Before or After Colon?
You can place footnotes after colons, though it’s uncommon for a colon to need a footnote. Most people would wait to place the footnote until the end of the list that comes after the colon.
Footnotes Before or After Semicolon?
You should place a footnote after a semicolon if you want to reference the clause before the semicolon.
Footnotes Before or After Question Mark?
Question marks are used to end sentences in a questioning manner. They are another form of punctuation mark, meaning footnote rules don’t change. You should place a footnote after a question mark when used.
Footnotes Before or After Exclamation Mark?
Finally, exclamation marks might need to be footnoted. You can place the footnote after the exclamation mark to source the sentence as a whole.
Rules For Using Quotation Marks
- Are you confused about whether to put a period inside or outside quotations? The most prevalent and preferable option is to always use a period inside the quotes. The preference is to do with the American and British styles of writing. Writing styles in the United States usually include commas and periods before the quotation mark. However, colons,...
Quotation Marks with Commas, Periods, and Other Punctuation
Capitalization
Other Uses For Quotation Marks